Guyanese should elect a President who can inspire the nation

Feb 05, 2015 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
On May 11, Guyanese will be voting to elect a new government. It is the fifth election under the PPP and the tenth since Independence.
It is clear that the President buckled under the pressure from the international community, especially the ABC countries-America, Britain and Canada-which gave him a dose of reality that his rule by decree (dictatorship) is repulsive and will not be tolerated. The dictatorial PPP regime had lost its favour with the ABC countries. We are happy at the fact that the PPP regime, which for the past ten years had demonstrated a high degree of arrogance and intolerance, had to comply.
For the PPP, political campaigns are not about objective reality or the truth, but virtual propaganda, never-ending distortions of the truth, empty promises and character assassinations. Strangely, even their faithful supporters who believe that only the truth matters; understand that the PPP regime is dishonest, wicked and corrupt.
Guyanese are aware that the country faces its greatest challenge since Independence in this election. The ongoing corrupt practices have transformed the PPP into a kleptocratic party and Guyana into a failed state. The low production of sugar, falling gold prices, lack of income streams to make up for the sugar shortfall and less foreign reserves have slipped the country into a deep economic hole and it would be long before it can crawl back out.
Notwithstanding the fact that Guyana’s deformed Constitution has made things worse for everyone. There is no separation or diffusion of powers between the executive and legislature, which is fundamental for a strong democracy. There is no real representation of the people in the nation’s highest forum. The President remains a reincarnated colonial governor, dominating Parliament and dictating to the opposition and the people with overwhelming power and authority.
Guyana has had two incarnations of antiquated authoritarianism—the current and former president—both displaying arrogance, arbitrariness and crudeness in varying degrees. Their nasty and boorish behaviour has been rejected by the people.
However, the combined opposition should not see the recent spate of the PPP regime bad luck as an opportunity to just sit by and wait for the proverbial ripe mango to drop in their laps. Indeed, the people are watching and waiting to hear how they will use this opportunity to give insight into some of the new leadership traits that they will apply were they to form the Government after the general election that is due in less than 100 days.
APNU and the AFC must embark on grass-roots campaign strategies to address grass-roots issues. The ordinary people continue to suffer from excruciating poverty under the PPP regime, therefore the party that will win the General Election will be the one that zeros-in on the grass-roots issues that directly affect the lives of the masses.
What are some of these grass-roots issues? Joblessness is a concern of every Guyanese, especially the youths. People all over the country are hungry for sustainable jobs and decent wages—a minimum wage of $15,000 per week, a 15 percent increase in salaries for public servants and an old age pension of $20,000 per month.
Another grass-root issue is the high crime rate, which has caused many law-abiding citizens to be prisoners in their homes and places of business. The belief that was sown in people’s minds during the last election by the PPP was that mega projects would result in thousands of jobs, increased wages and multiple economic spin-offs. It did not happen.
Since the PPP has a slightly larger hard-core base of supporters, for the opposition to win the election, it must address the grass-roots issues, promise free tuition at the post-secondary level and universal health care, among others. The PPP is known for its familiarity with the rich and is in an untenable position to address the issues affecting the masses.
With three months to go before elections, the PPP administration lacks legitimacy to initiate radical new measures for economic restructuring. And obviously, they have not done that in three years. The good news is that the people have recognized that they must have a new administration for Guyana to move forward. For too long, the public has been suffocated by partisan politics which has always been decimated by racial/political allegiances that allowed the PPP and its financiers to get away with murder, leaving the nation’s poor, permanently violated and alienated. Twenty-two years of this PPP legacy have seen the social fissures widened into a chasm.
Guyana needs leaders with social consciousness to inspire coherence; set standards and norms; arrest the decay evidenced throughout the country, the murderous violence, abhorrent child abuse, environmental degradation, massive corruption, crassness, and to build civilization and engender refinement. So, on May 11, the people must not vote for the party whose leader looks like them, but for a leader who can inspire the nation.                                         ,
Asquith Rose
Chandra Deolall
Dr. Merle Spenser-Marks

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