Every Reason to Celebrate

Oct 17, 2014 Letters

---

Dear Editor,
The People’s Progressive Party has every reason to celebrate. It has as a political party won regional and general elections for five consecutive terms since the restoration of democracy on October 5, 1992.
Before 1992, the PPP won elections in April 1953 and following the suspension of the Constitution and the party’s removal from office, again in 1957 when the life of the interim government came to and end and fresh elections were held.
The PPP went on to win the elections of 1961 but a studied and calculated attempt to change the electoral system from first past the post to proportional representation saw the PPP manipulated out of office even though it won the plurality.
But it is not so much the fact of winning elections that in the end really mattered. Rather, it is in the exercise of political power that sets the PPP aside and apart from previous administrations including that of the colonial government. The interim government which was appointed by the British government after the ejection of the PPP from office in 1953 turned out to be nothing but a huge failure. The country for all practical purposes was only marking time. This was hardly surprising as the majority of those who were catapulted into political office had either failed to win a seat or were”loyalists” to the Crown and had little or no interest in the affairs of state.
It was only after the PPP was re-elected to office in 1957 that any real attempt was made to meaningfully address the concerns of the people in particular the working people. A number of policy measures were taken to boost agricultural production in particular rice, milk and dairy production so much so that the United Force in its election manifesto promised to provide the people with “free milk and cassava” in its election manifesto.
In the area of social sector development, much emphasis was placed in education and health which saw among other stellar projects the establishment of the University of Guyana and the Bank of Guyana both of which were the brainchild of the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan.
Political power for the PPP is not the end but the means to a much bigger end, namely to enhance the quality of life of the Guyanese people. This is why the PPP can take pride of the fact that it has played the key role in all major aspects of our development both in terms of constitutional and democratic reforms as well as infrastructural development. Indeed Guyana’s changing landscape both from an infrastructural and a political perspective is inextricably linked to visionary leadership and good governance employed by the PPP/C government in which the country successfully mobilized resources for development under very trying conditions and a hostile political opposition.
Guyana today is no longer part of any IMF programme as in the past and therefore enjoys much greater latitude and leverage to pursue policies and programmes that accord with national imperatives. This was not always the case as many other developing countries who are depended on IMF funding are forced to contend with.
True independence has always been a dream of the Guyanese people who for over 150 years were subjected to British colonial rule and for close to a quarter of a century after political independence still remained in the clutches of neo-colonial and undemocratic rule.
In a real sense the true liberation of Guyana only began with the restoration of democracy on October 5, 1992 when for the first time the country experienced democratic rule in an independent Guyana. It is common knowledge that all elections in post independence Guyana were blatantly and massively rigged by the PNC which made a mockery of our independence and the democratic aspirations of the Guyanese people. The PPP/C became the first democratically elected government in post independence Guyana and Dr. Cheddi Jagan became the first democratically elected President of Guyana.
The people of Guyana are today the true masters of their destiny, thanks to the restoration of democratic rule. They enjoy a fundamental freedom which was denied them for close to three decades by the PNC, that is the freedom to elect a government of their choice. This is a fact that cannot and should not be downplayed. Indeed, it is the single most important distinguishing characteristic between the current PPP/C administration and the former PNC administration. The PPP/C administration is a democratically elected administration in contrast to the PNC administration which was foisted on the Guyanese people through a combination of force and fraud.
A fresh wind of democracy is now blowing across the country. Guyanese have every reason to be proud of the achievements we have collectively made over the years.
Hydar Ally

---

---