The administration disrespects Amerindians – gifts for votes

Apr 27, 2011 Letters

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Dear Editor,
“If Governments are in office and if by doing things for all their people- Amerindians or people who live on the coast enhances their chances of winning elections—Isn’t that what supposed to be?…The idea is service but service, hopefully, will bring support,” he said.
The “he” refers to Jagdeo and it sums up in a nutshell the philosophy of the PPP under this president, which underpins their historic attitude to all of the people in Guyana, whether they be coastal, hinterland, or indigenous (Amerindian) people, specifically!
This utterance from “Millie the Macaw” is pregnant with all of the elements that typically characterize everything that comes out of his mouth! Let us examine it a bit more closely.
First of all, it seems that Jagdeo, even after ten years as President, still does not understand his primary role as leader of the country, which is to manage the affairs of state with the help of the Parliament out of which work must accrue benefits to the citizenry without the expectation of anything in return, whether to self, Cabinet or Members of Parliament.
Of course, we all know that the reality in Guyana reflects the opposite of this universally accepted principle in the civilized world where democracy is the overarching and primary ideological construct within which governance is exercised.
His statement, “governments are in office…doing things enhances their chances of winning elections…Isn’t that what [it’s] supposed to be….” implies that Jagdeo does not understand this simple but profound truth. He wants us to believe that he and the PPP are doing the people a favor as they go about their business of managing the affairs of state.
Whenever they throw the crumbs at the populace we must first of all get down on our knees, thank them profusely and then go to the polling station and return them to office. He wants us to believe that he is in his right to adopt this stance!
Sadly, many of us really do believe that this is our proscribed role in our relationship with the political massas in our midst; which brings me to the substantive issue of my narrative.
Historically, the hinterland people have been that group which has been most vulnerable to this attitude of the politicians in Guyana, and its imposition has been insidious and subtle. Philosophically, the approach can be likened to the gifting of the “Trojan Horse” to the people with its agenda of deceit concealed in its entrails waiting to be unleashed at the right time.
Or, to use a more familiar analogy, we can liken Jagdeo’s initiative to the “Columbus Syndrome” (the exchange of glass beads for gold), where one initiates an exchange with another in which the value of one’s gift (laptops, cutlasses, solar panels, chainsaws, etc) is disproportionately and unfairly lower in value to what the giver gets in return, (the political support of the Amerindian people)!
The most disturbing feature of this process is that this con, this fooling of the people, is being enabled by members of some of these very communities where this dastardly and disrespectful act is taking place. This time around, Jagdeo is making all sorts of promises to the Amerindians which he says he intends to keep by using the financial resources gained from the LCDS deal with the Norwegians!
I am calling on all hinterland people to reject and to react to the continued disrespect shown to them by Jagdeo and his Amerindian spokespersons whom he has convinced to go and fool the members of their own communities.
You must reject Jagdeo because he is showing disrespect by assuming that because he comes with gifts you are obliged to give him your support. And you will react by not voting for the PPP in the next elections.
If you vote for the PPP you will be giving support to a group of people which has been enriching itself at the expense of all Guyanese while heaping all sorts of indignities on our collective heads! Nationally recognized leaders from these communities such as Ms. Rodrigues (Minister of Foreign affairs), Pauline Sukhai (Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Norman Whittaker, Peter Persaud, Ashton Simon, Yvonne Pearson, Ms. Jacobus, Dr. George Norton, Jean La Rose, Tony James, David James, Hubert Wong, etc., must all tell the Guyanese people, but moreso, the hinterland people, the truth about Jagdeo and the LCDS project.
I just want to say that I support any initiative which can be utilized to create a better quality of life for the
people of Guyana. The LCDS still has the POTENTIAL to be placed in this category but it has been touched by Jagdeo!
We all know what happens to all he touches! Whatever Jagdeo touches is instantly transformed into the most malodorous of miasmic substances!
Before LCDS became a political buzzword under the present regime some of us were quietly lobbying for Guyana to embark on seeking “Carbon Credits” from the international community for our vast forest resources which are now being indiscriminately parceled off and sold to absentee landlords who live in far-flung places like India.
Hubert Wong

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