Dear Editor,
President Irfaan Ali persists with his selling of ‘One Guyana.’ Unambiguously: I want success from that ‘One Guyana’ more than he does. But what is this ‘One Guyana’ that the head of state tries in an on and off manner to drum into the heads of Guyanese? On and off, because there are those developments that leads to his ‘One Guyana’ being seen as something more than hollow propaganda. One Guyana is seen as sinister, and that could be traced to the actions of the same President Ali’s government.
There have been those crude, inexplicable, and inexcusably rank developments from the PPP Government that targets IDPADA-G) (International Decade of People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana). A few objectives are as clear as day: first decimate it, then divide it, and last destroy it as a viable entity for African Guyanese. Thus: One Guyana is undermined from deep inside and high up in the government itself. I humbly submit the IDPADA-G situation that hangs in the air as it does, then that is not One Guyana. It is One Guyana minus a significant fraction of Guyana. I respectfully exhort President Ali to weigh that thought, and how his own programme intended (perhaps) to include and inspire has been sabotaged by his own.
If there is a problem at IDPADA-G, the president has every right to order the necessary moves to fix it. If, there is no problem (other than a political one), then Ali has an obligation to reject what is in place and negatively impacts IDPADA-G, as originating from the higher elevations in his government. That would be the hallmark of genuine excellence. My last point on this particularly deplorable situation re IDPADA-G is one that the president should know, and does know. There can be no higher elevation, no higher authority, that the office of the presidency in Guyana. Therefore, he is the highest authority, has the final say, on such issues as the IDAPDA-G calumny. Upend it.
A crossover vote from the PNC, by one individual, or scattered handfuls of them, as has happened should not be held aloft as a progress report on this One Guyana idea. One that rings well with me, as a reminder. For when there is either lavish incentive, or force of circumstances, or compelling ambition, then One Guyana is not truly striving. It is One Guyana being jury-rigged to produce a certain pleasing outcome on both sides of whatever bargain was consummated. I congratulate Ali on the strengths of the enticements he has in his hands. In other words, One Guyana is up for sale. One Guyana is what is bought. In contrast, I attest that true oneness can only come about, through a commitment to true unity. Devotion to being one of anything energizes an authentic and consistent harmonizing of minds. Devotion should channel thinking along spiritual lines, which is how seriously it is taken. I do so. Oneness is a must. Oneness must happen. And it will only come to past in the right way. By word and deed that feed that oneness to a mature and mighty being.
President Ali himself has been a major demolition man with the One Guyana that he broadcasts, makes a play to attract the attention of Guyanese. Because on each occasion that he refers to the old PNC (1960s vintage) and all of its evils, and the new PNC (as renamed, and 2019-20 reincarnation) and its madness, he tears One Guyana apart limb by limb. The fact is that Ali and other oversized PPP Government terriers have relished the dishing out of blow upon blow (some low) at the PNC, which agitates one out of every three Guyanese, maybe as much as two out of every five. In effect, this has torn apart One Guyana and reduced it to a visible, beached quadriplegic. I’m certain that the president knows this. But, if his One Guyana vision is to score high, he has to sacrifice the ancient, brutish politics. The past must be the past. If not, he propels and perpetuates the 1960s into the 2020s and 30s. What lot One Guyana, then? And, if there is some form of One Guyana, what kind is it, to what degree is it, and of what enduring power is it?
When qualified young African Guyanese are being cheated out of fair employment in government entities, through biased interview scoring, the One Guyana takes repeated punches. The same goes for state contracts. And lands. And other benefits. The word spreads within communities, among comrades, and throughout such resentful camps. As a courtesy to Ali, that practice, those prearranged fixes, are not the closely held secrets that they once were. Too frequent, too much the standard, for government consideration, and many given the wrong end of the stick. The latter should be well known to President Ali, since he coined it for another context. In aggregate, these besmirch the fabric of One Guyana, and leaves it ragged and with dirty, nasty, ugly odors. Last question: is One Guyana of one particular kind only?
Recommendation: if President Ali is really serious about delivering on One Guyana, then he must deal boldly and decisively with those tapeworms that perforate the guts of his One Guyana vision.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
