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The PNC and AFC are duty-bound to be a voice for their constituencies

Dec 02, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
Mr. Freddie Kissoon’s article, “The sins of the PNC and AFC have caught up with them,” (November 30) that questioned the role of the PNC and AFC in the face of gross failures and abuse by the Jagdeo regime could be used in any situation where the government is involved and people are active participants.
Truly, I wish if the PNC and AFC could have been more effective as parliamentary opposition parties, but as elected representatives, they have an obligation to show up in Parliament to represent the interests of the electors regardless of the distasteful behaviours of the government. Boycott is only viewed as a symbolic display to convey a powerful statement.
I read Mr. Kissoon almost daily and even when I don’t always agree with the premise or axis of his perspectives, I learn more either about his frame of mind or the issue he is addressing.
He has written constantly about the state of the University of Guyana (UG) and the failure of the government to make it a 21st century institution of higher learning.
He has even justifiably attacked government for running political interference in the institution, but at no time have I read where because of the government’s excessive interference in UG he refused to show up to do the job for which he was hired.
The Republican Party in America did not have a majority in the Senate or the House in President Barack Obama’s first two years at the White House, and the party also did not like the policies the government adopted for the country, but the Republicans kept showing up and arguing their case in Congress, even though they lost several major votes.
I know America is not Guyana and change won’t be as easy, but it is the principle of conducting one’s self in a manner that accords with the duty of being an elected official: you have to show up and provide representation, even if as a voice.
Let the records always show your voice was heard on the issues, even if your voice did not change the system right away.
As it now stands at UG, even if the situation does not change in the next 12 months, the records will show Mr. Kissoon was one of the loudest voices criticising the state of affairs there, even as he kept showing up day after day to do the job he was hired to do.
Hopefully, one day we won’t have to be going through this situation either in Parliament or at UG, but until then, everyone has to show up or be forced to shut up, and we know the consequences of shutting up.
Just look at what has been happening for the last 18 years as most have eaten glue and their tongues cleaved to the roofs of their mouths.
And to Mr. Kissoon, please do not stop constructively criticising the AFC; it is a very helpful exercise in ensuring it stays on its toes as it seeks to emerge as a truly viable alternative to the PPP and PNC.
If the AFC fails to deliver in the long run, the hunt for a new alternative has to begin afresh and our dreams may well be delayed, if not denied.
Emile Mervin

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