The Alliance For Change (AFC) is asserting that despite increased resources with millions nestled in the Natural Resource Fund, life is still hard for the majority of Guyanese.
This statement was part of the AFC’s New Year’s message by its leader, Khemraj Ramjattan as he addressed the state of affairs currently in Guyana. He alluded to “some disturbing developments” that will continue into 2023 and which he said must be addressed sooner than later.
He posited that the health of the economy is worrying while pointing a finger at the PPP/C Government. “Having benefitted from the generosity of the 2016 Petroleum Agreement, it was highly anticipated that we would be in a better place today as we enter the New Year. However, with over US$600 million extracted from the Natural Resource Fund, life for the substantial majority of Guyanese remains harsh, broken, and riddled with much socio/economic distress.”
Ramjattan went on to assert that the high cost of living commenced immediately upon the PPP/C taking office and continues to impact negatively on the day-to-day lifestyle of the Guyanese people.
He said: “Due to the state of affairs, many Guyanese cannot eat two square meals daily. On top of this sad state of affairs, there seems to be an orchestrated conspiracy of silence and an attitude of indifference by the administration and its allies of the well-fed citizens, which continues to explain away the suffering of the people.”
He pointed out that the nation’s resources today are better than they were four years ago, however, there is reason to believe (via SuGate and all) that there is some collusion among the oligarchs, which he described as “a toxic combination of corrupt PPP politicians and their recently ‘manufactured’ businesses.” The upshot of which, he said, is priority is being given to private profit over the public good.
The AFC leader referenced the recent alterations of the Election Laws as an example of the assault on democratic governance. He stated that the deleting from the laws of the residency requirement to be a voter and striking out house-to-house registration as the method to clean the Voters’ List “is the most flagrant assault on our democratic tradition since the contested elections.”
He also spoke of a “dangerous new trend” developing where citizens are becoming increasingly afraid to express their opinion of the actions of the Government. “The intimidation of opponents and those who do not support governments’ position in this fragile politics is also dangerous.”
Ramjattan also spoke of the “shenanigans” at the Parliamentary level of the Executive, pointing out the avoidance of scrutiny of any kind. He gave as examples, questions about who precisely are the beneficiaries of the Flood Relief, Covid Relief, the Fisherfolk Relief and the double severance pay to sugar workers, and the refusal to answer.
“Similarly, petitioning the Government to have proper consultations with stakeholders before Bills are passed, or even sending them to Select Committees for enhancement of the quality of the legislation, are refused.
The limited number of sittings of the National Assembly and even the Public Accounts Committee and non-function and dysfunction of a number of Parliamentary Committees and Commissions offer a glimpse of the Executive’s domination and suppression of scrutiny. In what was framed to ensure a separation of powers regime, we see the legislative subordination to the Executive.”
Added to this, Ramjattan remarked, was the “profound, unrelenting” political interference in government institutions with the Police Force, Civil Service, and Environmental Protection Agency stated as “glaring” examples.
The AFC leader moved on to discuss what he described as a democratic backslide concerning the conduct of the Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo in whom he noted a developing “Caesarism”, apparently in reference to the Roman emperor, Julius Caesar, who transformed Rome from a republic to an empire by aggrandising power through ambitious political reforms.
“He must be checked, as I had warned for years now. We want no Caesars! The warning of the liberal political thinker John Stuart Mill must be heeded at this time: ‘We must not lay our liberties at the feet of even a great man, or to trust him with power which enables him to subvert institutions.’ …as this hero worship and personality cult is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.”
He added, “The reasoning for two terms and no more never resonated with him (Jagdeo), although he assented to the Constitutional Amendment to effect term limits.” He also pointed out that such Caesarism is not good for the give-and-take compromises of institutional politics in a liberal democracy.
He concluded, “In 2023, we must ensure that our march continues towards a better democracy, which will provide positive socio/economic improvements and superior governance. We will never surrender this principle.”
