Presidential self-control

Feb 19, 2024 Editorial

Editorial…

Kaieteur News – Guyana’s striking teachers have taken offense of President Ali’s recent response on social media towards their action of taking to the streets. Teachers have objected to the head of state’s tone, the dismissive manner in which he has dealt with their situation. The president has been aggressive, reeked with hostility, in his efforts to intimidate Guyana’s striking educators with his powerful office, the bludgeons of his words. We agree that President Ali should do better, be more presidential, carry the dignity of his high office at a statesmanlike level.

Unfortunately, the president seems to think that he can blow through all human barriers, and blow away those who point to his litany of leadership failures. When Guyanese speak about oil and environmental failures, the President resorts to the hysterical and the slashing. He sees only those who are impeding the PPPC Government juggernaut, and not citizens who have genuine concerns about their place in this society, their safety, and their future. President Ali has transformed into what he should not be, certainly not at the elevation of the office that he holds. If it were a lower citizen involved, or a lesser office, then only a weak, clumsy bully would be what is seen. The president is best advised to calm down, slow down, and get down to the business of working towards solutions. Solutions help to remove flashpoints and bottlenecks. Confrontation only intensifies the rancor and deep distrusts that are now so pervasive across the length and breadth of Guyana.

The president has only himself to blame. He listens to who he wants to listen to, those who feed him what they know he wants to hear, and that is the limit of his world, the circle that he refuses to extend. Any Guyanese not agreeing fully with the president is a suspect, nothing but those he disdainfully dismissed as ‘self-made and self-appointed experts.’ The only expert in his eyes is himself and, if the president is allowed to have his way, then that is all that is to be said. It is hell from the president on any who is so bold as to speak a different truth.

There were those moments when this president reared up and let loose on those who say that more could be done by the PPPC Government, that sanctity of contract is a smokescreen that shows leaders at their weakest, and their worst. When assertive Guyanese escalate matters about the environment and inherent dangers posed by the inefficiencies of rubberstamp State institutions, President Ali drips with impatience and all the determination of a man who will not listen, will not be deterred. Now, when teachers take their fears to the street, the president who speaks about being for all the people is suddenly conspicuous in how he deals with them. It is the opposite of how he handles those close to him. His efforts are open to one interpretation. He believes that menacing, and browbeating, Guyanese who manifest their disagreement with his unilateral nature, and heavy-handedness, is the key to overcoming all opposition, his now settled modus operandi.

Since President Ali is of this irreconcilable mind, then some senior presence in the Office of the President (or the PPPC) should have the courage to whisper to him that he is proceeding on the wrong track with striking teachers. Those with doctorates, law degrees, and a long history of public relations gimmickry in this country should have the strength of character to advise the president that he is his own worst enemy. He makes himself look small, and he earns an increasingly terrible reputation as a leader. When the president delights in his tantrums, he does not impress, but he makes himself into the laughable. No Guyanese, whether they favor or detest the government could be pleased with a leader that triggers thoughts of what is juvenile.

It is time that the president remembers who he is and what responsibilities are vested in his office. He is the chief governor of Guyana, and not a man who conducts himself as though he is always on the election campaign trail. We suggest that President Ali reassesses his leadership approach, and begin on a new path.

Guyana’s striking teachers, PPPC Government, President Ali, statesmanlike

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Presidential self-control

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