Dear Editor,
The Opposition needs pace and power and boots on the ground. No time for talking only. Recently, MPs seem to be behaving as if it is business as usual. One senses that there seems to be no urgency; no fight in them. When the PPP lost the elections in 2015 they immediately started a struggle against the government that was relentless. They stopped at nothing! They took a government MP and made him move a no confidence motion against his own government. They protested at every opportunity and did not stop until they were installed.
Even when the elections results were being questioned they set up an action group named Guardians of Democracy and protested day and night. Today, though they are in government they are campaigning as if they are in opposition. It is like their energy is stunting our MPs but not under my watch! They have to work hard every day! This is tough love and they must know it is for the greater good. If they are tired or half interested in the struggle, they can step down and go their way. They must mobilise our supporters in their thousands and fight this fight until the PPP realises we mean business and begin to show some respect.
Yes, today the PPP government is behaving as if they are trying to win government. They understand that they have a one seat majority and their quest is to change that. Their strategy to win the support of thousands of Guyanese who are not interested in politics or are indifferent to politics is uncanny. When the Vice President who is really the power behind the PPP and the government took Guyanese Critic and made him his key social media man, it appeared crazy but Jagdeo is playing real politic. Critic has in excess of eighty thousand followers. His game is to use crazy antics to capture the attention of the masses and he has.
The PPP is taking taxpayers money and handing it out to poor people and telling them they care. They are taking food to poor Black people and telling them they care. At Linden they have Shanghai who is quietly behind the scene influencing countless young Blacks to support the PPP. Do you know why I know that Shanghai is being effective? The PPP is convinced of the inroads they are quietly making at Linden. They rewarded Shanghai with a multi-million dollar contract. Shanghai has the ear of some of our own officials who turn a blind eye to his political agenda. You may think that Shanghai and Critic are not significant and that is the mistake we continue to make.
We feel important to talk about the big national issues but winning an election is about winning souls on the ground. If the PPP is allowed to buy one thousand of our supporters in each of our stronghold, the era of a one seat majority is over. And if their activists are allowed today to go on unchecked in our support base while our leaders refuse to find activists in our camp to counter them, we must not cry foul at the next elections because the real work is not done at elections time. The real work is now.
Critic can walk in Irfaan, Jagdeo or any minister’s office at any time. Did you know I can’t call certain MPs and Regional Officials on our side and get an answer or a call back? That is how petty and big headed some of our leaders are in the opposition. They feel you shouldn’t objectively call them out, no matter what you have done to help their cause. Our opposition functionaries have a way of shutting people out for life. We cannot win people like that and if we can’t win people we cannot win elections.
Yes, in the coming days and weeks I am coming at you as your brother who cares about our struggle to defeat the PPP. If I call you to get a view about something to benefit our people and you refuse to entertain me, I shall put your photo up and let the world know. If you don’t answer or call back over a few days, I shall let our supporters know. We are going to do right by each other regardless of differences and win the next elections together. Until then we need you to be visible and tireless in the fight against the PPP. Power and pace and boots on the ground, indeed.
Sincerely,
Norman Browne
Social and Political Activist
