The tyranny of the majority

May 17, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,

Given the racial composition of Guyana and the deeply entrenched voting patterns along racial lines, it is not likely that the country that was once touted as the bread basket (now basket case) of CARICOM will see an appreciable increase in their standard of living let alone racial harmony in the foreseeable future as long as the PPP government remains in office.

Commentators such as Kaieteur News columnist Freddie Kissoon have long decried the paucity of Indians who openly speak out against the blatant institutionalized corruption, discrimination, marginalisation and mistreatment of Blacks meted out by the Jagdeo led Administration.

The deafening sounds you hear is the silence of the majority of the population who through such action, give permission and support to a government that has increasingly demonstrated little regard for dissent or legitimate criticism of its policies or performance.

Constructive criticism or questions based on policy differences are viewed as threats to the government’s authority. This results in a “busing down” led by none other than President Jagdeo and his cadre of overpaid apologists and sycophants. The latest installment as reported in the two independent dailies came when the ‘flying beggar’ refused to provide a reasonable or logical answer to questions posed about the fitness of the latest in the long line of “friends of the government” to benefit from dubious contracts, Synergy Holdings and the Amaila Falls hydro dam road project. Instead of pointing to verifiable and specific projects completed by the contract awardee Fip Motilall, he proceeded to insult all cake shop owners by lecturing the media to stop the “cake shop reportage” of the Amaila Falls project. Well even a cake shop is run better that how the Jagdeo administration runs the country. You can’t have a bottom house rum shop mentality and expect fine department store respect or treatment.

It is deeply troubling and polarizing when practically all spheres of government/society is dominated by one segment of a multi ethnic society and there is little hope for redress through the courts or even token opposition by the elected Opposition. It would seem that the results of the elections held in Britain on May 6, 2010 that saw a fired up electorate gave the Labour government the boot who had been in power since 1997; would be instructive to Guyanese in general but specifically to the opposition because some of their main complaints was one party domination and the flawed Westminster model of government/first past the post elections. Imagine, even in Guyana’s “mother country” the electorate is fed up with the Westminster model and as a result, the new coalition government formed by Conservatives and Liberal Democrats (two un-natural allies) will work on electoral reform.

Editor, I thank you for indulging me the space to publish my previous letters but it has become painfully obvious to me that Guyanese aren’t collectively ready for change or the hard work and commitment that is required to effect such change. I will leave the letter writing to more optimistic souls. Incidentally, hadn’t it been for the selfless and relentless efforts by Guyanese in the Diaspora, the Jagdeo/PPP government wouldn’t have appeared in Geneva Switzerland before the UN Committee on Human Rights abuse to answer charges about its links to the death squads/phantom squads, state sponsored torture, discrimination and marginalisation. Based on my observation and bloggers response to the UN story in SN, it is my opinion that Guyanese want their problems solved by someone else; instead they must be the change they want to become.

Nigel Jason

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News