Political paranoia and societal amnesia

Mar 14, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – There is a position that continues to make the rounds. As these things flare, they are best left alone, because of the settled mindsets of many Guyanese, no progress is made.
This is true of cunning leaders, who make a crooked living cultivating such outlooks on local politics that suit their purposes. It is that when criticisms, or objections, or frank reporting, are placed in the public domain, there are cries of foul. The clamour is what about dealing in the same manner with others, and meaning the foes on the other side, when they were in power.
Though we recognize the customary politicking, now a settled part of domestic political culture, it is still sickening to hear this hogwash being bandied about under the false flags of “selective” and ‘bias’ and ‘naysayers.’ Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler made good use of some of those same words and positions (or words close in meaning to them), with many of their own people paying dearly for their honesty and bravery. This has to be the height of leader and supporter delusion, and of well-practiced amnesia, since the facts and record are there to prove who is lying, and who are the ones that have been consistently about truth and fairness and what is just for all Guyanese.
The truths are that when political parties and their leaders, as well as their supporters, find themselves in the rolls of the opposition, they are excited by what this publication has been about in going after facts and figures with ferocious dedication to duty. Leaders and supporters, when in opposition, are content to standby and allow Kaieteur News to lead the charge from the front, and take the blows from the government of the day. We have had our share of such blows, and continue to experience them today.
The facts are that when the APNU occupied the opposition benches, it was lazy and desultory. It was this paper that took the bull by the horns and went to bat, not for what was helpful to the opposition, but what was right for the Guyanese people, and what was in keeping with our professional calling to pursue truths and facts. And also, what was in line with our vision to bring the full truth, and nothing but the truth to citizens. But how quickly do Guyanese, the APNU coalition and its loyalists, forget, or pretend to forget.
For when it was the APNU coalition’s turn to command the corridors of power, the then opposition PPP/C was pleased to allow us to do the heavy lifting. We at this paper did so, with one damning exposure tumbling on the heels of the other, relative to what is now universally admitted as one of the worst oil contract in the history of mankind, if not the absolute worst; along with corruptions and malpractices. No other publication, print or otherwise has dedicated resources to highlight the one-sided nature of our signed oil contract, and what it means for Guyanese. Our energies and revelations were not for the benefit of the opposition PPP/C, but for all the Guyanese people.
Moreover, during the stormy and dispute-plagued 2020 elections, the record of our efforts are there for all to read and hear. Every channel in the Kaieteur network, inclusive of newspaper, radio, and social media, was utilised to shed light on what was happening. Our coverage, programmes, and staffing, plus guests from all over, were focused on getting to the bottom of our troubles, and ventilating them for public consumption. This was not for the advantage of the PPP/C opposition, but what was true to the ideals of the democracy that all say that they aspire to, but apparently only during elections, and when they emerge victorious. Now that the fight is continuing, with holding the feet of leaders in today’s PPP/C Government to the fire, there are these outbursts of bias and unfairness. When we insist on doing our job as watchdogs for democracy’s truths and standards, without fear or favour, we hear it. It means that we must be doing right. It is why we plan to continue with what has worked for Guyana throughout our working history.

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