We the people must now seriously plan our vote
Dear Editor,
In a sitting of the Guyana Parliament on Friday, December 21, 2018, 33 out of the 65 Parliamentarians voted to bring down the Granger-led APNU+AFC Government. Elected Representatives are expected to speak and vote on behalf of those they represent, but in many instances this remains an ideal. It will be up to the approximately 500,000 Guyanese electorate to decide in the first quarter of 2019, who will govern Guyana for the next 5 years. At the same time, the Guyanese electorate will deliver their verdict on the no-confidence vote of the 33 members of Parliament.
A one-man Parliamentary majority should always be a political nightmare for any Government. However, it seemed to have had the reverse unnatural effect on the Granger-led Government which was embarrassingly caught napping by a vulnerable member of its Coalition Team. If President Granger is half the man we believe him to be, he would already have extended the Olive Branch to “defector” Persaud, in an attempt at reconciliation.
It is equally foolish for either the PPP/C or for the APNU+AFC to assume victory at the polls in the first quarter of 2019. All interested parties, including the newly formed ANUG (A New and United Guyana) must humbly present themselves to the people, and justify their claim to another chance at Governing. In our recent national history, we have been governed by the PPP/C for 23 years. In stark contrast, we have been governed by the APNU/AFC for less than 4 years. We know that under the PPP/Civic, the illicit drug trade blossomed and was cultivated at an unprecedented rate. Unrestrained and uninhibited money- laundering illicit real-estate investments were undertaken.
Governmental corruption reached unprecedented levels and repeatedly incurred the ire of some of our international partners.
The result was an exponential widening of the socioeconomic divide and the creation of a set of false indicators of economic growth, stability and self-sustainability. And when, as it inevitably will, there was an organic rebellion by non-supporters of the PPP/Civic, the Government’s response was to sanction extra-judicial killings.
In stark contrast, in less than 4 years, the APNU+AFC Granger-led Government has returned a sense of national pride to Guyana and has already driven a stake in the heart of public corruption. The flaunted disparity of wealth in Guyana is empowered by a culture that has taken root during decades of PPP/Civic Government. It is a nightmare undertaking to convert our country into a more self-sustainable model of economic development with a firm foundation on which we can build with the proceeds of our national natural and human resources. But regardless of how challenging it is, this critical conversion must take place, in order to restore a paradigm of equal rights and justice.
The power lies in the hands of the people, but most of us do not know how to use it. Our Politicians who understand power and who fight for power, will as usual try to deceive us with empty rhetoric and bottom-less promises. But they will succeed, only if we allow them. As the campaigns move into high gear, we must carefully and critically examine the “pretenders to the throne” for sincerity and accuracy and consistency in their utterances.
Regardless of what they say, we must score them on the issues that we feel are critical to the fulfilment of the collective national dream of Guyanese. These must include respect for the rule of law; integrity in the management of the public purse; equal opportunity to jobs and positions of public service; zero tolerance for corruption both in the private and public sector; and a clear vision for Guyana’s role on the world stage.
The Parliamentarians planned their vote and voted their plan. We the people must now seriously plan our vote, and on Election Day, vote our plan.
Yours faithfully,
Phyllis J. Jordan