Why this “I surrender’ attitude about another political party?

Apr 29, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
I wish to thank Mr. Rudolph Singh (KN: Apr 27/17) for responding to my proposition of a new political party to take Guyana forward in 2020. He is perfectly correct in his cynicism about the merits of another political party, and his sentiments are a common thread running through the thinking of the Guyanese public. Herein however lies our problem: we all seem content to remain arm-chair professionals when dealing with our political and economic problems. This is ‘I surrender’ attitude I submit is the unfortunate heritage of the Burnham era, when many Guyanese resigned themselves to their fate under the Burnham administration.
A cursory review of history will however show that many if not all of the developed countries passed through stages of extreme hardship and oppression to free themselves from those who would oppress and enslave them. Men arose in each of these states who challenged the status quo and pushed through the necessary legal and political reforms to transition their respective countries to where they are today.
I myself happen to be the simple messenger for the new political party. The person who is actually putting together the political party can hardly claim to be of the stature of the men just referred to. We are however just responding to the forces of oppression of both the Peoples National Congress and the Peoples Progressive Party, knowing that the gains we have made in 2015 will surely be lost if the PPP were to regain power in 2020. The stark reality is that the Coalition seems to have embarked on fulfilling our worst expectations.
Guyana’s economic progress has to be viewed within the context of strength, vision and ability of our political parties. The PPP failed us, so we disposed of them. The Coalition has failed us, so they will surely be gotten rid of. We all know that the PPP regaining power in 2020 will be a giant step backward, so we have opted to provide Guyanese with an alternative to the PPP winning by default.
The purpose of the new political party is to carry forward with the positive changes initiated in 2015 by putting forward a vision for Guyana which we can all claim as our own, and by harnessing the necessary expertise and skills to deliver on this vision. Work still needs to be done in drafting something for public consumption, but Mr. Singh and other committed and interested Guyanese should rest assured that fixing our constitution will share equal priority with our primary concern of delivering the social and economic progress to which we all aspire and know can be achieved. As just indicated, our Party will be initially seeking to enlist individuals committed to developing Guyana who have skill sets which respond to the various ministerial portfolios. The core values of our Party can be summed up in what will become our motto: Equality of Opportunity For All, Equal Rights and Justice, Freedom of Expression. These represent the values the Party firmly believes all Guyanese can share and hold as their own.
Lance Cumberbatch

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