The Story within the Story…On the Hunt: A different kind of diplomacy

Jun 19, 2016 News

By Leonard Gildarie
The country in recent times has been sending off its diplomats to take up their new overseas postings.

Leonard Gildarie

President David Granger, in his farewell messages, has been making one thing clear to these representatives – market Guyana; represent your country and its products.
I could not help but again reflect on the importance of our overseas representatives this past week as Guyana says goodbye to United States Deputy Chief of Mission, Bryan Hunt.
He has spent a mere three years here, but Hunt’s presence has been felt in so many ways.
His outspokenness seems to have broken the mould of what diplomacy is all about.
His job here was clear…to further the interest of the US in Guyana.
How well have our own diplomats been working to further our interests?
I have said it before and will say it again – our overseas postings have to move far beyond appointing someone who has a nice house and allowance and issues a few passports.
We have services and products that we can sell. Our rums; our low cost of labour; the vast lands for investments; the oil and gold sectors; the agro-industry – the list goes on. We need to set targets for our diplomats in especially key postings like China, India, the US and places nearer to home like Suriname and Brazil.
In the past, save for a few agreement signings, one heard very little of their work. I am not saying that nothing was done. The Venezuela oil-for-rice deal would have been something that Guyana should have been thankful for while it lasted.
Speaking with Kaieteur News on his time here, Hunt more than hinted of the hard work behind the scenes to push for reforms.
The prorogation of Parliament in late 2014 that forced early elections was something that should not have happened, he says.
There would have been many late-night calls and behind-the-scenes twisting of arms to change the situation.
Of course, there has been debate and complaints, especially from the now Opposition, over what it perceives as interference by diplomats in the affairs of this country.
Hunt appears to be proud of the fact that there was a peaceful transition to a new Government and, shortly after that, the holding of Local Government Elections after a two-decade lapse.
Of course, the envoy does not want to take credit for the establishment of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) office here, but there is no doubt he played an integral role.
Guyana has been growing as a critical transit point for narcotics in recent years, enough so that the US was intent on establishing an office here. The increasing number of drug busts at the Timehri airport could largely be credited to the DEA’s presence.
The US diplomat was pellucid about the direction that Guyana has to take. It will have to involve more talking between the Government of the day and the Opposition. I could not agree with him more.
How often have we not heard that people are feeling alienated in this land of ours? I am not sure what would change in a short while. The fact remains that the coalition Government barely scraped home with just over 4,500 votes. Do we consider that a victory for them?
I see it as an opportunity for this administration to also break the mould and bridge the gap that has been chaining us to the walls for over 50 years. In the past, the coalition, which controlled the National Assembly by a one-seat majority, has been complaining of little concessions coming from the Government of the day. We have yet to learn the art of concessions. Give a little, take a little.
In the US, as is the norm all over the world, politicians make concessions all the time to each other. It is either giving up a position or passing a piece of legislation that is critical to the Opposition.
In Guyana, we have not matured enough to understand that negotiation involves a little of giving. We have to…there is no other way to move our country forward. Politicians continue to make the same mistake over and over again. We fail to listen to the voices.
We are looking at the next five years and how much political points we can rack up.
How about leaving a legacy? How about being proud of the work we do and putting our country first?
Jubilee celebrations are over. We did well. It is time to find ways to jump-start the economy and ignite investors’ confidence. Both the Government and Opposition have to find common ground to make it happen. We expect nothing less.
We need more Bryan Hunts and more genuine negotiators.

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