Why is the PPP/C celebrating this anniversary?

Oct 07, 2012 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

Why is the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) planning to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its election victory and its entry into office on 9th October 1992?
What is there for the PPP/C administration to celebrate when extra-judicial killings by the police, armed robberies, murderous maritime piracy, suicides, fuel-smuggling, gun-running, contraband smuggling and backtracking still rage uncontrollably throughout the country?
The PPP, particularly from the time of Bharrat Jagdeo’s presidency, oversaw the criminalisation of the state and, in turn, precipitated a grave security crisis.
The PPP’s biggest problem sprang largely from policies adopted to deal with the security crisis that arose specifically in the Jagdeo presidency and which exposed the ideological and political contradictions within the party itself.
The combined cost of the narco-driven crime wave, corruption, cronyism and the degradation of national institutions have taken a toll on the quality of life in Guyana.
The PPP, from the time it returned to office, set out to reinforce its total control of the state. Its policy of authoritarianism and centralism was evident in the deliberate weakening of important institutions such as the National Assembly. It undermined the independence and impartiality of the Public Service, the Security Services and the constitutional commissions set up to safeguard the integrity of those very institutions.
The PPP ignored important constitutional organs such as the Ombudsman and the Public Service Appellate Tribunal which provided assurances to the public and protection from executive lawlessness. It starved regulatory and law-enforcement agencies – the Customs and Trade Administration of the Guyana Revenue Authority; the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit; the Environmental Protection Agency and the Guyana Energy Agency – of assets, essential equipment, financing and personnel to such an extent that their ability to function effectively has been seriously impaired for years.
The National Communications Network, Guyana Chronicle and the Government Information Agency rigorously exclude Opposition political parties and the dissenting views of civil society. The state media all function as agencies of the PPP/C, not as organs in the public interest.
The PPP/C, however, does not seem to understand why it is failing. The party has no idea why it has lost the trust and confidence even of its once staunch supporters.
The party finds itself being rejected by the public, because it has repudiated the very public institutions and structures it promised to support and strengthen.
The PPP/C’s concept of democracy was never about creating autonomous collective structures to empower individuals and communities to enable them to prosper. The PPP/C’s concept of democracy was merely a form of social authoritarianism in which the party perceived society as something it could control perpetually.
The PPP/C’s present policy dilemma lies in its persistent failure to address the core issues and needs of civil society, the labour movement and the masses in general. This is evident in its attempts to degrade the Guyana Trades Union Congress and the Guyana Public Service Union.
The PPP/C likes to claim that its re-entry to office marked the rebirth of democracy. In fact, 9th October 1992 marked the rekindling of its desire to transform the country into community it can control.
That is why, to this day, but most particularly during the Jagdeo presidency, PPP/C policy-makers frequently criticise civil society – especially the Amerindian People’s Association; Guyana Bar Association; Guyana Human Rights Association, and the Guyana Trades Union Congress.
The PPP/C has not started to transform Guyana into a modern democratic state. It is only when the PPP embraces the common good that it can escape the authoritarianism and centralism that have so badly weakened our national institutions over the past 20 years.

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