Dear Editor,
Patriotic and independent-thinking Guyanese from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds envisioned a bright ray of hope for a long-awaited change in the country’s destructive partisan political culture when the new party Alliance for Change [AFC] secured six Parliamentary seats at the 2006 National Elections and seven at the 2011 polls.
There is little doubt that the support the party received was an indication of the disapproval and discontent many harboured over the stewardship of the two major parties. They saw this as the dawn of a possible new era in which the party could use its mandate and political muscle to fight for constitutional reform, non-partisan politics, liberal policies, equal distribution of the nation’s wealth, livable wages and working conditions for all. This dream sadly was never to materialize for those who had given the AFC this mandate. It would appear that overriding egotistical aspirations and personal plans prior to and following its assumption of political office sabotaged the agenda on which the party was moulded and through which it was gifted its mandate.
It can be argued that the lure of political office clouded the original vision of its leaders sacrificing whatever commitment previously undertaken towards a class struggle. Sadly, this selfish pursuit and lust for power destroyed the hopes and dreams of thousands of working-class Guyanese who have struggled in poverty to survive since Independence. They saw the AFC as their Knight in Shining Armour and the arrival of a new breed of politicians willing to break the back of race-based politics and all of its evil elements and outcomes. The rest is now history. The party’s fatal mistake was its decision to join the Coalition. As a result, it forfeited the balancing power it had been gifted by voters. The party had effectively lost its way and abandoned its mission.
How does the party from here restore its once respectable image and re-kindle its old national and international support and linkages? The first question is: has the AFC undertaken an in-depth and honest analysis of its mistakes and failures in and out of office. And if not why not? If it has, is it prepared to address the findings and implement any of the possible recommendations? Is the leadership prepared to return to its original ideals, tenets and Manifesto? An undemocratic party will become an undemocratic Government. The party’s return ticket to credibility, mass support and eventual power-broker status lies in its willingness to embrace internal democratic processes, woo former activists back to the fold, embrace transparency in all its affairs, plans and programmes, public accountability, honesty, humility and in seeking collaboration with like-minded civic individuals and organisations. A noble beginning would be a public apology to its supporters and the nation.
Outside of a strong and independent Third Force free of any affiliation to the two major parties, the AFC still has the opportunity to become the nation’s saving grace and stop the slide into further decadence, a one-party state, poverty and possible self-destruction. There is also need for the party to formulate an effective public relations strategy, investment in researching and exposing Government’s deficiencies and malpractices and consistently grounding with the working class. The ball is in your court. The opportunity is there to be grasped.
The nation’s future could be determined by your actions and/or inactions. The question is: do you have the will, dedication, strength and patriotic spirit to serve this nation in dire need of honest, mature and humble political leadership? Is the party leadership up to the task of real nation building? Do they have the testicular fortitude? Do they have the capacity to learn not only from their own mistakes but also those of the PNC and PPP? Only time will tell us.
Yours faithfully,
Daniel Da Costa