CHARTING A NEW COURSE

Nov 13, 2018 Editorial

It is certain that former President Bharrat Jagdeo will not be the presidential candidate for his party in 2020 and President David Granger may choose not to lead the APNU + AFC coalition either, given recent health concerns. As reported in this publication, President Granger went to Cuba for a thorough medical examination. This is not the first time Mr. Granger has sought medical opinions overseas. There is no question that his health is very important to us and everyone should pray for him and wish him good health so that he can continue the arduous task as the Head of State.
The health of private citizens should be kept secret. It is against medical ethics for doctors or nurses to disclose to the public the health issues of private persons. But should the same rules apply to our leaders who are public officials? Some believe that the health of our president should be kept private and should only be raised when there is a factual basis to do so. Others feel that the public has a right to know about the health of our leaders. As a result, rumours, conjecture, uncertainty and/or anxiety persist.
In the past, our leaders have kept their ailments secret. The majority of citizens did not know of the gravity of their illness. Very few knew that the country’s first Executive President, Forbes Burnham was seriously ill until his sudden death at the Georgetown Public Hospital. The same was true for Dr. Cheddi Jagan, who died twelve years later at the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, DC. Their deaths not only shocked the nation and the Caribbean, but caught most Guyanese by surprise. The sudden deaths of those iconic leaders should be the reasons why the public should know about the health conditions of the current leaders. It will help them cope both physically and mentally, should the worse happen.
Guyana is at a crossroads in terms of its ailing economy, crime, corruption, high unemployment, poverty and poor health and education services, and therefore a president who is healthy and would devote all his energy to solve the nation’s problems is required to be at the helm.
Since independence, our political leaders from both sides of the aisle have in many ways betrayed and deceived us. In every election, they have made promises but they have not delivered. They did it in order to obtain our votes, because their ultimate goal has been to gain power at all cost. We have been fooled and bamboozled too many times by our political leaders who have put their interests ahead of those of the people and the country.
Throughout our post-independence period, we have been governed by leaders who have failed us. Many citizens are opining that it is time for a change in the way the country is being governed, especially given what has transpired during the last five decades. Some say this can be done by embracing new and younger leaders with integrity to harness the human and natural resources needed to transform and develop the country and move it forward.
It is an absolute truth that we need visionary and transformational leaders to end poverty, corruption, crime, and the lawlessness in society. There is an obvious need for leaders with compassion and a commitment to solve the nation’s problems and improve the well-being of the masses. It is time to look to far and wide for honest and moral leaders who will end the partisan bickering and unite and govern the country in the interest of all. It is time to chart a new course.