President Ali’s invitation to past presidents is a bold, magnanimous move

Dec 10, 2020 Letters

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Dear Editor,

President Ali last week extended invitations to all the past presidents to meet on December 15. The full agenda is not known but the President has indicated that it would be an opportunity to exchange different perspectives on Guyana’s development and set up a framework for future engagement.
In the world we aspire to, our politicians would put country before self when it comes to the crunch. This does not happen often enough. The recent election impasse was resolved with the mediation of the international community including CARIFTA, the Commonwealth and the ABCE countries. No doubt quiet diplomacy has continued.
Now it’s time to move on as a country for the benefit of the people and to focus resources at tacking the challenges the country faces at this amazing point in its history. Guyana has had its ups and downs. However, at no point before has it been simultaneously presented with such great challenge and such opportunity.
It is hoped that these talks turnout to be substantive. Moreover, that they result in real cooperation that helps focus the country’s efforts on the important tasks ahead. However, that hope is not without trepidation. It is accompanied by the concern generated by the little evidence so far of Mr. Granger putting country first. And wonder whether there will be attempts to undercut the goodwill with red herrings.
For example, in the past, while some have taken to extolling the merits of shared governance, others have even put forward the suggestion of some sort of federation of states for Guyana with Region 4 being carved up. The former is opportunistic and the latter conducive to creating fiefdoms and squabbling.
Others are talking about constitutional and electoral reform, which is fine where needed, at the appropriate time, and not to the detriment of currently pressing issues. We can have the perfectly best constitution, all-encompassing electoral reform, and the best form of government to little avail. The most essential element is people of good will, and in particular, leaders of good will who respect and abide by the institutions and processes implemented.
Imperfect as is our constitution, electoral system and form of governance, there is no fatal flaw that in itself gives rise to or could validly be said to underlie any sense of grievance. It is a democratic system, which maybe can be improved upon but is perfectly capable of working as is. We have seen this. In this democratic system, the government is chosen by the electorate. They are given five years to manage the country for the benefit of the people. At the end of that period, they come back to the people who can either give them another term or choose others to manage the country.
It may not be perfect but it works in countries all over the world. As the late Winston Churchill said, “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time”.
Moreover, left to their own device, most Guyanese across the spectrum show they can and do accommodate each other to a much greater extent than some would have – i.e. those who would use division to consolidate power. Look at the makeup of the population. The mixed segment is the fastest growing. By the next election, this segment of voters will be as large and influential as the other two major ethnic segments. Guyana is a rich mixture of cultures.
And in this spirit of unity, the present government has set out an agenda and infrastructure development programme that it hopes will lead to the improved economic well-being of all Guyanese. There is no illusion that economic well-being is the singular magic bullet for all conflict. However, it is a foundation stone from which we can build. It seeks to address the basic needs of everyone – food and shelter, while it at the same time ambitiously moving up the chain with safety, health-care, education and opportunity.
Given the trauma the country endured for the five months post-election, the continued acts of disruption since, and the countless times Granger has reneged on his word, many undoubtedly have distaste for the government inviting dialogue with Mr. Granger. One would have hoped that leadership of more integrity would have emerged from his party. Today we learnt of the continued intransigence and offensive behaviour of opposition leader Harmon, refusing to accept a courtesy call from outgoing Canadian High Commissioner Lillian Chatterjee.
However, President Ali has made a bold and magnanimous move in the better interest of the country. It is an opportunity for everyone to put the best interest of the country first. In this spirit, the country could only hope for the best outcome of this session between all the Past-Presidents and our current President.

Yours truly,
Ron Cheong

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