Guyanese want a new type of politics, principled politicians

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Dear Editor,

Guyanese are dissatisfied with the way democracy is working. They want a new way of doing politics. In addition to regular, free, fair and transparent elections and freedom of expression, Guyanese want inclusive governance so that citizens, the press and the diaspora can participate in reviewing and implementing national policies, programmes and plans.

In the 2011, 2015 and 2020 elections, many Guyanese changed the way they traditionally voted. It is estimated that at least 35,000 ‘swing’ voters (equivalent to 5 seats in the National Assembly) cast their ballots, not for party or ethnicity, but for politicians who they believe would practice power with good character.

This is significant because, in the new National Assembly, the difference is 1 seat and 1.38% of total votes between the PPP/C and the combined opposition of APNU+AFC and the small and new parties. Although most Indo-Guyanese voted for the PPP/ C and most AfroGuyanese voted for the APNU+AFC, these parties could not have won, respectively, 33 parliamentary seats and 31 parliamentary seats, without significant support from voters in the Mixed and Indigenous communities who are now 31% of the population.

In future elections, more voters will cast their ballots, not on the basis of party loyalty or ethnicity, but on the following concerns. Will politicians manage properly the new oilproducing economy? Will politicians ensure that Guyana will not be infected with the oil ‘Dutch Disease’ in the financial, political, economic and social spheres? Will politicians smartly use the oil revenue to support a diversity of non-oil economic sectors to increase incomes for all ethnic communities in all the regions of Guyana? Will they implement policies to overcome the “pre-existing conditions” of unfair ethnic and class competition, corruption, poverty, crimes and public insecurity? Will politicians end the culture of impunity where elected politicians and public officials who carry out illegal and corrupt activities escape punishment such as sanctions, fines and dismissal?

Most politicians in the National Assembly are from the middle class. They are academics, doctors, lawyers, managers, engineers and teachers. They have social status, post- secondary education, high skills, good incomes and pensions, and access to economic resources.

Without question, Guyana needs these full-time professional politicians from the middle class to use their authority, influence, skills, experience and power to successfully address the challenges of an oil-producing economy, a maturing democracy, climate change and pandemics.

But we need balance by including more politicians who are workers and farmers because, unfortunately, there are many examples from oilproducing countries where most middle class politicians acted like “a class for themselves”. They did not implement policies to overcome the social and economic inequalities that are a burden on the overwhelming majority of the population who are working people, the unemployed, the under-employed, the dispossessed, the marginalized, the poor and the hungry.

Now, more than ever, Guyanese do not want opportunist politicians who abuse power.

Opportunist politicians come from all political parties, ethnicities, classes, genders, ideologies, ages, sizes, shapes and colours. While they appear to listen to people and talk about democratic reforms, about fighting poverty and corruption, and about defending human rights, in reality, their actions expose their true character. They exclude or control how civil society organizations could participate in finding solutions to the nation’s problems.

They are preoccupied with using power to serve their own self-interests and on facilitating unfair advantages for their families through nepotism, and for their friends and associates through cronyism.

They participate in and accommodate grand and petty corruption and quietly justify the paying of bribes supposedly to avoid bureaucratic delays. With impunity, they break or go around the rules. They discourage and obstruct investigations into how some politicians and officials have acquired wealth. They usually ally with foreign and diaspora ‘carpetbagger (dishonest)’ investors who want to take advantage of Guyana.

Most times, opportunist politicians get away with illegal behaviour because some of their party supporters and some members of their ethnic community make excuses for them and do not call them out to be accountable for their wrongdoings.

Principled politicians, on the other hand, practice power for the benefit of the people. Although many have experienced social mobility into the middle class, they never forget where they come from. They are admired because they are honest, caring, fairminded, humble, authentic, courageous and forward-looking. When they see something is wrong, they do not look away but they do something to stop or change it. They practice accountability and transparency and ensure that all laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.

They are preoccupied with addressing the needs, hopes and the interests of the overwhelming majority of the nation who are workers,