This is how Guyana works, has been, and will be for the foreseeable future

Dec 08, 2018 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

I will venture, according to Gordon Forte, “Where angels fear to tread” (SN Letters 12/06/2018), by commenting on the current controversy caused by Chairman of the PNC and Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence.
Others have touched on what the minister’s statement ultimately portends, namely, partition, a thought that is virtually banned from discussion in Guyana. I would like to examine that part of the issue, and then some.
But first of all, I wish to commend the lady for casting all political correctness to the wind and calling it as it is. Why the outcry? This is exactly what the PPP does when it is in office. Indeed, this is how Guyana works, has been, and will be for the foreseeable future. It is the backbone, foundation, and fabric of our being.
I do believe that the goodly people who seek to keep this problem under the rug by espousing unity and shared governance do us more harm than the active and arduous practitioners of the partisanship. As a non-PNC, I would much rather work with Volda Lawrence than say, a Harmon or a Williams.
The only person to have addressed this problem head-on, as far as I know, is Eusi Kwayana, when he proposed partition as a last resort solution if joint government is not acceptable. His party at the time, the PNC, acting with 110% political correctness immediately sanctioned him by relieving him of his position.
Kwayana continued on his own to work for his people with no less passion and dedication. The one lesson I have personally learned from Kwayana is that he who genuinely cherishes his own people can never despise another people. True love of your own truly means respect for all others.
It is nearly 60 years since Kwayana broached the subject. The only thing that has changed is that the division has gotten worse. It would be really nice to know how the public at large feels about such a prospect (partition). A bi-partisan referendum would be the best way to test that sentiment. If the choice is nay, then we could put that issue to bed forever. Would a government, even when joined by the opposition, ever support such a politically incorrect proposition? Never.
There is one other thing the minister mentioned that puzzles me. I am reminded that she was speaking to Region Four party members at party headquarters. A little exuberance is understandable in such a home situation. She said she would only give jobs to PNC people because those are the only kind of people she knows. Fine.
She also announced that she was looking for a doctor. It seems to me a trained specialist like a medical doctor would be embarrassed if his/her job selection was based on the fact of being a PNC or PPP supporter. Colleagues on the job would also harbour doubts about the professionalism of someone who came through that route.
Woe be it that the next thing you know is that the selectee would get his job instruction to only treat party supporters with worthy attention. And since when does a minister look to hire people like doctors? Aren’t there search and recruiting arms of the government trained and well-positioned to do so?
In my 16 years in the Guyana public service (a long time ago), partisan politicians used to confine themselves to find the washer woman, the cleaning lady, the mailroom boy, and such.

Sincerely,
P. D. Sharma
Los Angeles, CA

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