Coalition has always served those in power, not the people

Jun 28, 2021 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The Coalition spun the corruption mantra to perfection and the gullible had swallowed it. Guyanese will never fall for this again when for five years, which they had witnessed not only what real corruption but what real rigging is under the Coalition. Young Guyanese had a taste of Burnhamism of action! And to those who had forgotten their memories were jolted!
Guyanese must never forget that Coalition politics destroyed this country on two occasions and this should never be permitted to happen again. Moses Nagamootoo knows this too well. When one analyses what took place in the Coalition of 1964 and that of 2015, one can discern stark and compelling similarities to support this proposition.
Let me refresh Nagamootoo’s memory. General Elections were held in Guyana (then British Guiana) on 7th December, 1964 – despite the PPP winning a majority of 24 seats – saw the beginning of dirty coalition politics in Guyana, with a coalition between the PNC and the UF. The interests of the people were not of any importance and this unholy alliance engineered served both foreign interests and that of Burnham and the PNC. In 2015 again, the Coalition was never about the people but to gain power in order to feather their own nests. The 1964 Coalition had marked also the beginning of a most ruthless reign of the Burnham dictatorship, which saw the rapid decline of our socio-economic structure. History would repeat itself in 2015 when in just five years, the Treasury became empty, the reserves depleted and the country was facing bankruptcy, unemployment rose and the standard of living plummeted. In the earlier Coalition, the economic decline began to gain traction in 1966, just two years into government.
Agriculture became the prime target of the PNC as it was after 2015. The Coalition Government was deliberately applying policies detrimental to the agriculture sector. Similar to the promises made during the 2015 Election Campaign, during the 1964 election campaign, the farmers were promised 30 acres of land with good drainage and irrigation, and that they would get good markets and fair prices. They had also promised that rice farmers will get $10 more per bag from the Cuban rice market. In 2015, they were promised $9,000 dollars per bag. However, it was not only in Agriculture, but the other sectors began a rapid decline. The balance of trade which was favourable up to 1964 became increasingly unfavourable, showing an increasing deficit each year – in 1965 and 1966, it was $4.3 million but by the first half of 1967, it was a staggering $26 million). Over 4,250 workers were retrenched, including 1,000 sugar workers and 1,500 bauxite workers, and the unemployment rose to 23%. It must be noted that this scenario played out when the Coalition assumed power in 2015.
It is ironic that during this period of ruthless dictatorship and corruption Nagamootoo had written and spoken volumes and was one of the prime targets of the PNC but the return of the PNC dictatorship in 2015 which he supported, saw him hearing and seeing no evil. He was himself utterly consumed by the same corrupt practices, which he had vociferously condemned.
Just as what happened after 1964, happened again after 2015, the promises were not kept and things fell apart rapidly. In fact, hunger and suffering began to stalk the land. The Coalition was simply a ruse to oust the PPP and get into power. It’s just startling how the PNC can fool Guyanese with the same promises twice. This time, this unholy alliance was spearheaded and orchestrated by Nagamootoo, the self-acclaimed disciple of Dr. Jagan and the anointed one.
The disastrous effect of the 1964 Coalition lasted for 28 years. It must be recalled that under the PNC dictatorship, the entire socio-economic structure collapsed and it became criminal to even put certain foods on the table, such as potato, flour, onion, garlic, flour and sardines, etc. Moreover, during these horrific years, the PNC apart from completely bankrupting the economy, sold off many of our valuable assets for next to nothing, enriching families and friends and those who could provide a lucrative kick-back. This was more pronounced just before the 1992 Elections.
Fortunately, in 1992 and until 2015, the PPP/C under the leadership of the late Dr. Jagan and then Dr. Jagdeo, propelling Guyana into an upward progressive trajectory, which moved Guyana from a poor low income country to a middle income country with a per capita income in excess of US$5,000.
Even before they coalesced in 2015, the AFC joined hands with the PNC to frustrate and destabilise the PPP/C Government. This became more pronounced from 2011 when Nagamootoo became the ‘scissors man’ for the PNC. This man saw an opportunity to fulfill his political ambitions so he moved a no confidence motion to remove the PPP/C Government. This was achieved and the Elections in 2015 saw the return of an infamous alliance and he became the ‘siren’ Prime Minister. The Coalition in 1964 was reenacted but with a difference. The AFC was the perfect partner in crime. Ironically, the no confidence motion in 2018 was the precursor to the eventual toppling of the fledgling PNC/AFC dictatorship in 2020. This was poetic justice!
Unlike Peter D’Aguiar, the AFC’s leadership in 2015 saw an opportunity for self-aggrandisement and enrichment. The APNU+AFC had squandered and mismanaged our economy through corrupt practices to the extent that they have spent more than $1.3 trillion dollars with nothing to show.
(Continued on page 5)

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