POLITICAL IMMATURITY

Dec 08, 2016 Editorial, Features / Columnists

In the Bible, there is a quotation: “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away my childish things.” These words could be used to reflect the general state of mind between mature and immature leadership in the country.
It is true that as children, we thought and reasoned as children, but when we grew up, we quit our childish ways. However, it appears that the leadership from both sides of the isle did not get the script.
In this our 50th year of independence, Guyana has done relatively well and we have a lot to be thankful for since gaining independence from Britain. But it is time for the leaders to cast aside their outrageously childish behaviour and in the national interest demonstrate true political maturity. This is needed in the current budget debate, given the problems facing the country.
The government has based its political narrative of leadership on what had existed in the 1960s and 1970s and they seem happy to be living in the past. But they have not realized that their political narrative which primarily focuses on solutions in that period is not the answer to today’s complex problems.
History has taught us the valuable lessons for understanding the present through the lens of the past, but the current problems facing the country is far different from those in the past. What is particularly needed in Guyana is more mature leadership, especially at the government level. The immaturity that now exists in governance is an issue of great concern to all. It is hindering the progress in the country and preventing the people from realizing their full potential.
Guyana needs modern, transformative and civilized leaders who will cast aside their pettiness and childishness and adopt a more mature approach to politics and governance.The viciousness of our leaders from past and present governments down to the party level has led to the division of the races and the exclusion of many in society.
There are many outstanding Guyanese with skills and talents in the Diaspora who would like to make a tangible contribution to the development of the country. But they are being excluded by pettiness and partisan politics. Guyanese in the Diaspora who have effective problem-solving skills to complement the local skills are being denied the opportunity.
Guyana is a democratic country which means that it is natural to have intense and open debates on different ideas. Certainly, a person’s ideas will face criticism from others. Criticizing another person’s ideas does not necessarily mean that the critic is an enemy or does not like the person whose ideas have been criticized. In civil society, criticisms are not only viewed negatively; many often contain a positive dimension. However, some politicians are so thin-skinned and childish that they take every criticism, even when it is well-meaning, as a personal attack on them.
Guyana is way too small to be divided by such pettiness. It is time for the politicians to be mature and see the positive side of criticism instead of trying to be spiteful. They should learn to agree to disagree without being vindictive but with respect for one another. This will go a long way towards political maturity and the unity of the country.
For 23 years, the former administration was not only corrupt and vulgar, but it practised a politics of puerility. Persons who disagreed with its policies and denounced its infantile behaviour were labelled as unpatriotic and purveyors of doom and gloom. Today, this kind of malice is unleased against persons who criticized the administration. Our politicians must be matured to provide a better life for all. Political maturity is the key to economic development and prosperity.

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