The essential thing about life, WPA doesn’t understand

Apr 07, 2018 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Once your thought patterns have taken shape, then, wherever you are, whichever part of the world you were born into you must, as a matter of vital survival, you must understand one fundamental fact of life that is inescapable – respect comes out of self-respect. Any human who doesn’t grasp the meaning of that value will live life forever being frustrated.
Based on how you carry yourself and how you protect your dignity and your convictions, your fellow humans are going to extend respect. But even if they withhold that respect they will be deterred in assaulting your dignity because they know you will retaliate. No one pays homage to a Pavlovian sycophant.
This important lesson in life is powerfully relevant to the post 2015 functionalism of the WPA. The WPA is going through the throes of uncertainty citing the callous way it is being treated by the PNC section of the government. There are increasing calls from some of its important names for it to leave the coalition.
To get a glimpse of how the WPA is seen by its main coalition partner, the PNC, the words of its General-Secretary, Amna Ally, is instructive. She said she is not bothered by what the WPA says in that the PNC is a strong party and it will win the 2020 elections. Here is the key part of her reaction; “I’m looking after my party; (let) Mr. Hinds look after his party.
If the WPA cannot see the subliminal text in that reaction, then it has extremely poor politicians. Simply put, she is saying the PNC can hold its own and will hold its own if the WPA pulls out of APNU. Is she right? The WPA, those who respect the remnants of the WPA, and those who would like to see the WPA remain in politics may not like the answer but Amna Ally is right.
We come back to that cardinal rule – respect comes out of self respect. PNC leaders see the WPA as an electoral fiction, thus it does not accord it the respect that the WPA thinks it deserves. What WPA needs to do is to attempt to put itself inside the head of PNC leaders.
Let’s go back to the days after the 2015 election victory. In 2011 when APNU was born, it was public knowledge that the WPA was a tiny entity without any substantial constituency. I asked an important leader of the AFC why the party doesn’t merge with the WPA. His words were, “What are they bringing to the table? They can join as ordinary members.”
The WPA’s value served the PNC in the context of a divided African Guyanese community. The Burnham-Rodney split had divided the African race throughout the world and it hasn’t gone away. I’ve met Black American scholars who believe Walter Rodney was and is important to Black civilization. When the WPA of Walter Rodney merged with the PNC of Forbes Burnham, the psyche of Africans throughout the world went through a psychic healing.
It was the 2015 election victory that was important to the WPA. It was a priceless opportunity that the WPA erased. It is paying the price for it.
Days after the 2015 victory, I sat down with David Hinds for a deeply analytical tête-à-tête. My strategic suggestion was the time has come for WPA to rebuild its image and concretize itself in the body politic of Guyana. I suggested public meetings, bringing new faces on board and a complete revamping of the WPA’s television programme, “Walter Rodney Grounding.”
I submitted the name of Malcolm Harripaul. David Hinds accepted the ideas. We held only two public meetings; one at Stabroek Square, the other at Buxton. I spoke at both. Sharma Soloman spoke at Buxton. Malcolm Harripaul told me, he was never contacted. “Walter Rodney Groundings” continues to be an embarrassment for a political programme.
Then the WPA began to disintegrate in 2016 and 2017. Ogunseye publicly accused Roopnaraine of refusing to discuss governmental policies with the WPA claiming party and government are separate. WPA disclosed that the APNU never consulted it in June 2015 on its representative to be in the Cabinet.
Roopnaraine was moved from the Education Ministry. WPA again cried it was not consulted. Roopnaraine resigned from governmental office after discussion with the WPA. He withdrew his resignation. WPA again cried foul. It said Roopnaraine did not notify the party.
We now have the Hinds debacle with the Chronicle. What the WPA has to understand is that if it appears as a messy entity, its partners will not respect it. And the WPA is a mess it brought unto itself.

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