Dear Editor,
To navigate the complex world, our minds of necessity are wired to simplify and to prevent information overload. Of necessity, therefore, we stereotype or pigeonhole persons and groups. Dr. Tara Singh, in his letter to SN on 27/09/22 (“Norton must transcend his own party’s boundaries and reach out to all segments of society”) stereotypes the new Leader of the Opposition (LOO). As a result, Dr. Singh ignores evidence that contradicts or falsifies many of his conclusions. Of passing interest, Dr. Singh approvingly quotes Norman Browne, a political activist who often attacks Mr. Norton for being too moderate and for not unleashing hordes of protesters on the streets as the PNCR’s SOP.
That said, to respond to Dr. Singh’s letter point for point will require much space. Let me instead approach matters by first presenting my take of what LOO Norton is fighting AGAINST and, secondly, what he is fighting FOR. Hopefully, we can then view Mr. Norton’s leadership through wider and fairer lenses. On the AGAINST side of the ledger, editorials and commentaries have focused much on the Opposition’s fight against racial discrimination, giving it a BLM slant. Without dwelling much here, let me just say that the call for evidence of discrimination (which does exist) tries to compress this complicated issue into a box for which it is too big. As such, critical issues such as ethnic anxiety and insecurity, ethnic identity, ethnicization of geographic spaces and social and economic spheres, government’s arbitrary and discretionary powers, weak oversight of government actions, and absence of checks and balances are too often ignored.
But LOO Norton and the coalition have also been waging war against top-level corruption. With investors having to pay so-called “transaction fees”, with the dubious awarding of multi-million-dollar contracts, and with the untold level of embezzlement of cash transfers (that even VP Jagdeo, of all people, complained about) who benefits when the LOO “combatively” fights on this front? Answer: the entire nation. Persons of all races, not just Afro-Guyanese. I, for one, have not noticed editorials and letter writers crediting Norton and the Opposition for their campaign against rising government corruption. Just as critical, Aubrey Norton and the coalition have been waging war against the PPP’s pathological obsession with controlling and dominating all decision-making spaces. Should Dr. Tara Singh request evidence of this obsession, he can start by reading the several SN editorials in 2022 alone that have belly-ached about this.
Its Editorial of 23rd April, for instance, observed that “One Guyana, the apparent new national motto … sounds more like “One Party Rule”.” Again, this is a campaign the Opposition pursues on behalf of all Guyanese. On the FOR side of the ledger, Mr. Norton in his New Year’s speech (his first since becoming the PNCR Leader) unveiled a national development vision that is both people-centred and people-first. Over the months, one senses his growing impatience where, despite massive oil wealth, poverty and inequality, and uncertainty and despair, are all escalating among the masses. He and his party have proposed ideas to end poverty and to lift and expand the middle-class; ideas to mitigate the current rising cost-of living; ideas to build a caring society with a comprehensive social protection system (in sync with the World Bank’s recent urging); and ideas on democracy and good governance. These are not Afro-centric concerns only. This is a multi-ethnic “leave no Guyanese behind” vision.
These broad all-inclusive positions embraced by Mr. Norton do not fit well with the efforts to stereotype him. My own advice to Mr. Norton is to continue to use all legitimate political tools to protect the rights and entitlements of all Guyanese, be they of African, Indian, Indigenous, Mixed or other origin. Dr. Singh, Ravi Dev and others must realize that a political party will often have to fight for the rights of one group or another while it fights for all. As regards Dr. Singh’s advice for Mr. Norton to “defuse his confrontational approach and replace it with rapprochement” I remarked in a previous letter (in SN 15/08/22) “that Mr. Norton and the coalition have to fight the fight the PPP is bringing to them…And if the PPP would stop at nothing in its cravings for total domination (including its lone resistance to a clean voters list), the country cannot then expect all smiles and handshakes from the Opposition.”
Sincerely,
Sherwood Lowe
