Dear Editor,
Lincoln Lewis’ Stabroek News missive (Sept 24/24) brings to the fore exactly what is wrong with Guyana’s culture: many of us, especially PNC supporters, are completely void of conscience and a sense of justice, what is right and fair. There can be no progress, no path to dialogue, without justice. Lincoln proceeds to expound from on high the folly of the opposition (PNC/AFC/WPA) not learning from history. But only as this relates to overcoming the PPP. He noticeably and completely discards the vast difference in the PPP’s leadership in the sixties under Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Ashton Chase and company, compared with what obtains today. Taken as a quick guide, this sets the stage for relegating his observations to pedagogic irrelevance, since it will be impossible to comprehensively grasp our problems through his selective analysis.
The remainder of his discourse follows a similar vein, and disqualifies him from the podium, because he spends the remainder schooling the PNC, AFC and WPA on the mechanisms of beating the PPP, without even raising the trenchant reasons for the PNC being booted in 1992, with special emphasis on the APNU/ AFC’s dismal failure in 2020. Lincoln copiously neglects this coalition’s attempt to upturn Guyana’s 2020 election results, its glaring attempt to rig our elections in broad daylight, that would have ultimately led to a return to PNC-style dictatorship. Not to mention the indignities meted out to sugar workers. Or them signing the ridiculous Exxon contract. The very issues Lincoln finds prudent to ignore are precisely those which are instructive, useful and beneficial for Guyanese.
First, Burnham and the PNC were used by the UK in pre-Independence Guyana to blunt the PPP’s push for better conditions for sugar workers. This was significant because it would have adversely impacted sugar’s profitability, and revenue for the UK. The UK branded Dr. Jagan a
communist, and given the origins of Mrs. Jagan, made this a bone of contention for Guyana moving towards Independence. Burnham was able to hide his own ties to communism/socialism at the time, and left both the UK and America flat-footed when he started rigging our elections and transforming Guyana into a socialist state, everything both the US and UK feared would happen under Dr. Jagan’s leadership. (https://dncgy.com/contextualizing-the-us-and-uk-stance-on-guyana-a-quick-history-lesson-on-guyanas-politics/)
We know the rest of history until 1992, until 2015, 2020, and finally, today. The opposition Lincoln refers to, the APNU/AFC, has more than likely learnt from their own experience that talk all they want, they almost certainly aren’t going to be anywhere close to beating the PPP next year. The path to a better life for Guyanese, a better future with a government they can trust, lies with them, with building a new party like the DNC into a strong government to offer themselves in 2025. Only with a new political party can we stop the haemorrhaging of our money to Exxon. With a new cadre of leaders with the desire and commitment to reform our constitution and manage our economic development, our welfare, and our resources, based on governance and regulatory systems that can never be delivered by either the opposition or the PPP. I urge that we start now, because we will have to live with our decisions, our choices after the 2025 elections.
Craig Sylvester.
Party Leader, DNC.