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The clock of change in Guyana is ticking
Dear Editor,
The disrespect that leaders of the two major parties have for the Guyanese people is disheartening and sickening. Last week we emphasized that past President Donald Ramotar highlighted the corruption within the Granger-led administration and called for prosecutions, all the while ignoring the fact that corruption was ripe in the PPP and within his government. Yet he never called (neither is calling now), for prosecution for those culpable within his ranks.
Now we have this indefensible rhetoric from the First Vice President and Prime Minister of the country, Mr. Moses Nagamootoo. In a speech in Parliament last week, Mr. Nagamootoo said that the increases that the PPP granted to their Ministers, Prime Minister and Presidents, over the last 17 years of their rule, were “unconscionable and disgraceful”. Let that sink in a while. Let the hypocrisy of that outlandish remark bare sway on your imagination for a moment.
The PM must think that Guyanese are asses and not masses. Firstly, Mr. Nagamootoo was an executive member of the PPP for 15 of those 17 years and would have either suggested the said raises, argued in support of them, or indeed voted for them in parliament, Additionally, nowhere did we see or hear Mr. Nagamootoo decry the “unconscionable and disgraceful” increases when he was jostling to lead the corrupt PPP and hence continue to benefit from the said ‘despicable’ increases. How does he now say that the increases are so egregious when he was a beneficiary of ALL those increases?
So let’s say that the reason he left the PPP was because of those kinds of those “unconscionable and disgraceful” acts. Let’s argue that Mr. Nagamootoo’s conscience could stomach no more of that kind of despicable behaviour and that that is one of the reasons he parted company with the PPP (of course we all know that the reason he left the PPP is because he did not and could never have gotten the Presidential top-spot in the party). But for argument sake, let’s say he left on the grounds that the party had moved away from the honest, transparent, ideals of Dr. Jagan.
Now Mr. Nagamootoo is with the Granger-led Coalition. He has a fresh start to do right by the country. He is now the second in command – 1st Vice President and Prime Minister. If Mr. Nagamootoo is so aggrieved by the years of “unconscionable and disgraceful” increases and if he thinks they were criminal, then can the PM please tell the Guyanese people, why he never sought to publically correct the PPP’s financial injustices perpetrated upon the Guyanese tax payers? After all, the Cummingsberg Accord, allows him the latitude to do, or undo, anything he (or his ever dying AFC party), think is in the interest of the Guyanese citizenry.
Finally, why did he support and vote for a doubling of the salaries of all the Ministers, including his salary and the increase of the President’s? If indeed, Jagdeo and his PPP clan were “unconscionable and disgraceful” in substantially increasing their salaries, how then can Mr. Nagamootoo support a doubling of those already bloated salaries?
The PM thinks that the Guyanese are fools: that he can tell us anything and we will believe it. Mr. Nagamootoo honestly feels that he can tell us whatever he thinks will fool us into believing the PNC-Coalition (PNC-C) is different from the PPP/Civic. Well, those days of misinforming and tricking the blinded, naive, Guyanese masses are slowly drawing to an end. The Guyanese public is waking up and the handwriting of a new day is on the wall.
The PPP/C has irrevocably damaged the Guyanese psyche. The PNC was the first to lead us down that track of political brokenness. Now the PNC is back to continue its game of political misinformation and administrative propaganda. We know that these career politicians, from the two major parties, cannot help themselves. A tiger cannot change his spots. However, those tactics are getting old. The Guyanese people are wising up. The clock of change is ticking. The Masses are no longer appreciative of being treated as Asses. 2020 will be an interesting year.
Dr. Vishnu Bandhu
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