Dear Editor,
Those who know how 2015 happened would attest to the fact that opposition politicians were not responsible for that historic victory. It was the layman/woman, grassroots activists and social media commentators/activists and trade unionists that carried that struggle and secured a victory for the Coalition after they would have languished in political opposition for 23 years. They got power and immediately turned their phones off, closed the doors of their ministries to the public and turned their backs on the grassroots. Has anything change with them, today? One of the worst curse opposition politicians in Guyana is bewitched by is arrogance. They are pompous, dismissive and haughty when in ‘big positions’. One dares not objectively critique them publicly because the reward would be your non-existence or irrelevance in every sphere of political and public life, thereafter. They would quietly shut you up and down if you are not a conformist or a yes-man.
Currently in opposition and struggling to find a political footing not much has changed with regards to their attitude. They have a penchant of ignoring those who call them out publicly but have their best political interest at heart. In Guyanese parlance we say, “dem easy fuh stap talk to yuh”. When we examine the PPP’s attitude to grassroots politics, it is the total opposite. The PPP is in government and behaving like they are a desperate and hungry opposition looking for countrywide support. I have been critical of the Kashif and Shanghai organisation for decades and as recent as yesterday spoke out against a multimillion dollar contract Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major is a part of at Linden. Shanghai called me yesterday and referred to me as ‘brother’ in a lengthy conversation in which there were no animosity. Shanghai’s focus was more to do with what the Coalition government did to Black people. In his inimitable style he pontificated, seeking to convert an old dog like me that would throw the PPP into a fiery furnace at the first opportunity. My concern was beyond what he was saying. I was more worried about how the impressionable youth at Linden would be influenced by his narrative. And he is quietly working to win souls at Linden. In my estimation he is perhaps the only true grassroots politician at Linden and there is no one shadowing him on the ground in that town to refute his narrative. It is the little things that matter; those small things that we dismiss as insignificant that can cause the greatest upset in the grand scheme of seeking political office.
We cannot even unite in our party to find the best candidate to lead it. Harmon made a public promise to Voice of the Diaspora. He is yet to live up to it. He must know I remain a diehard PNC supporter and will continue to fight to see the back of the PPP. He must fight hard to overcome the petty attitude that the party is cursed with. It appears as if nothing will change. We shall see.
Sincerely,
Norman K. Browne
Activist