The grassroots forces can score an important victory for Guyana in 2016

Jun 28, 2014 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
The 2011 election results had a very deep meaning.  If one analyzes Guyana’s history, one would realize that 1964 was the last elections when no party got more than 50 percent of the votes (one would never know the reality between 1968 and 1985 as these elections did not reflect the will of the people). The message was clear in 2011; the people want the stakeholders to communicate more and form alliances when necessary on the human development issues.
Unfortunately, the politicians with the elephants in the room are not very good listeners as they continue to give nothing but lip service to operationalising the tripartite committee talks.  The evidence is clear, they are not interested in breaking down the barriers to human development; they prefer to wallow in their fantasy that their racial enclaves will carry them in 2016.
The 10th Parliament represents the changing character of Guyana and the APNU (PNC) and PPP continue to ignore this political evolution.  After 1968, the PNC did not govern to the best of its ability (save and except for a brief period between 1989 and 1992 under Hoyte) and this sort of mal-administration continued under the PPP during the Jagdeo/Ramotar era (1991-2014).  Those in power since 1968 thought that in 2011, the social support base of their parties (ethnicity) would have come to their rescue in 2011, despite their history of inadequate governance, but they were wrong.
The first lesson from 2011 is that the young people wanted better governance and based on their track record neither the APNU (PNC) nor the PPP can be trusted with a majority.  Yet almost three years after such a strong message, we cannot find any evidence of political will on either side, to take the necessary measures to rectify the wrongs against the people; it is all about preservation of one’s pension and one’s mansions on both sides of the political divide.  Many have the deep perception that there is a Jagdeo/Corbin alliance that dominates these elephants in the room, rather than genuine talks in tripartite arrangement.
Is this the causation as to why the APNU (PNC) continues to be so docile in its representation of the people against the transgression from a most uncaring PPP?
One example of this mal-administration is the APNU (PNC) appointment of a retiree on the GPL Board, totally marginalizing the young and talented AFC representative.  The outcome; the Guyanese people still do not know what is really happening at GPL since that individual arrived on the Board; nothing has changed – blackout is alive and well.
The second lesson is if you do not govern well, whether it is the nation, as in the case of the PPP, or your constituency, as is the case of the APNU (PNC), race alone will not save you.  Either you perform or perish.  The PPP which saw itself garnering 210,000 thousand votes in 2001 lost more than 44,000 votes by 2011.  The PNC – now the APNU – also experienced a similar fate, losing some 27,000 votes by 2011 from 2001. The message is clear 71,000 voters have abandoned the PPP and APNU (PNC) over a decade and this mass abandoning of the political dinosaurs will continue into 2016 until they learn the art of good governance.
These political dinosaurs who control the APNU (PNC) and PPP continue to think that with all these serious allegations of corruption, past and present, going as far back to “Rigged Elections-Gate” in the PNC days to “Skeldon-Factory-Gate” under the PPP today, that they can just manipulate their image with a few token inserts into their leadership with people from a different race and the crossover votes will flow like the Kaieteur Falls. Utterly political foolishness!
In an environment of an ever-youthful population and the advent of social media, the people now have the power to watch the political opportunism “ball by ball”. The people are fully aware of all the political gimmicks and the most probable outcome in 2016 is another minority Government.
Those who thought they could switch alliances like political grasshoppers and ignore the wishes of the people for genuine reforms will be taught serious lessons by the electorate in 2016. Afro-Guyanese vote for the Jennifer Wades who continue to do sterling grassroots political work for the people of West Berbice.  Likewise Indo-Guyanese vote for the Vindya Persauds who have gone beyond the call of duty to preserve their culture and have done something real for women and the homeless in Guyana. People trust the Moses Nagamootoos because these kinds of people have always been with them in the mud, giving the voiceless a voice.  People like the Jaipaul Sharmas and Mark Benschops will score in 2016 because they are always prepared to give genuine representation to the powerless and the oppressed.
Real political success grows with real grassroots work and genuine representation of the people’s interest on the little issues; not your race or your family connection.  Before 2006, the people had no real alternative; today they have real options.
To add to this reality, the racial enclaves are shrinking at a very fast pace. The Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese populations have evaporated by some 11 percent and 5 percent respectively since 1964 to 2011 while the mixed population has doubled in the same period.  So the racist political campaign will not and cannot work anymore.
That is why forces such as the AFC, Independent Party (Benschop) and the Justice For All Party (Jaipaul Sharma) are very relevant in 2016, and can score an important victory for Guyana if they continue to do what they are doing; exposing the issues that are very important to the people and working with the people at the village level.
Sase Singh

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