May the dreams and aspirations of our ancestors become a living reality

Aug 02, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

As we observe yet another milestone since our African foreparents were freed from the shackles of slavery, it is a good time to reflect on the difficult road we traversed since emancipation and the challenges that still lie before us in our quest for a cohesive and prosperous Guyana.
There can be no doubt that we have made substantial progress in terms of the evolution of a free and independent country. No longer are we subjected to the rule of Her Majesty’s Government and pledge loyalty to a foreign imperial power. We now have our own Constitution and system of governance which, for better or worse, have governed our political life for over five decades. The challenge before us is to find a way to enable our Constitution and our governance system to unite us as a people and create a cohesive and harmonious society.
I will posit the view that sociologically we are doing much better than what obtains at the political level. The country remains polarised politically even though there is a fair degree of cohesion ethnically and culturally. We interact with each other on a daily basis with a fair degree of cordiality and mutual respect, which speaks well to our diversity and multiculturalism.
Whatever differences exist is manifested primarily around the bifurcated nature of our politics, which became much more pronounced since the split of the PPP in 1955. That split saw the emergence of two PPP’s – PPP (Jagan) and PPP (Burnham). Both political groups contested the 1957 elections under the banner of the PPP in which PPP (Jagan) won 9 of the 14 seats. It was after the defeat of PPP (Burnham) in the 1957 elections that Burnham changed the name of his Party to that of the People’s National Congress (PNC).
Interestingly, both Jagan and Burnham were founder members of the PPP, which was formed in January 1, 1950. The formation of the PPP in 1950 brought the two major ethnic groups under one political umbrella and the country for the first time saw a convergence of political, ethnic and working class unity, which manifested itself in the massive victory of the PPP in the 1953 elections in which the PPP obtained 18 of the 24 allocated seats.
That unity, however, was shattered with the split of the PPP in 1955 the scars of which remain deeply ingrained in our body politic until this day. The challenge before us is to find ways to return to the spirit of the early 1950’s when there was racial and political unity. We owe this to the memory of our ancestors and to the present generation as well as generations to come. We cannot continue with the adversarial nature of our politics, which has turned out to be a significant drag on our national effort to build a peaceful, progressive and prosperous Guyana.
As we observe another Emancipation milestone, the country is experiencing severe political stress following the successful passage of a no-confidence vote in Parliament last December. We have to, in a serious and creative way, address the issue of ethnic insecurity, which is so deeply embedded in the national psyche. The ‘winner takes it all’ approach must give way to greater participatory, inclusive and accountable governance especially in light of our anticipated oil riches.
I take this opportunity to extend Emancipation greetings to all Guyanese in particular our African brothers and sisters. May the dreams and aspirations of our ancestors for a peaceful, progressive and prosperous Guyana become a living reality!

Hydar Ally

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