Latest update September 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 28, 2024 Letters
Dear Editor,
Reference is made to Henry Jeffery’s letter ‘Clement Rohee: not much wiser’ published in the August 20th, 2024 edition of K/N.
Apart from the innuendos about my ‘incapacity to properly grasp the nuances of comparative discourse;’ ‘failing to grasp the dynamics that normally exist between teaching and learning’ and being ‘somewhat confused and clearly intending to mislead the public a la PPP;’ I consider Jeffery’s jabs at me as self-serving, tantamount to elitist academic posturing. Moreover, they all pale into insignificance when my political steadfastness and loyalty to the PPP is juxtaposed with Jeffery’s grass-hopping from PNC to PPP/C; from PPP/C to APNU; from APNU to ANUG; from ANUG to Afro-centrism; from Afro-centrism to the WPA; from the WPA to Stabroek News; from Stabroek News to Village Voice, from Village Voice to Politics 101 and from Politics 101 to Kaieteur News. The pattern of an unstable mindset in search for relevance speaks for itself. With that In mind, the public is sensible enough not to rely on his writings of, nor his discourses considering his checkered political, and inconsistent ideological track record.
While perusing the contents of Jeffery’s letter, it occurred to me that he scrupulously ignored the significant advances made with the suite of new electoral laws to bring about significant improvements on the Representation of the People Act (ROPA). Interestingly, there is not a single reference to democracy nor transparency in his letter.
Jeffery studiously avoided any reference to the sordid events at the Ashmins building. Furthermore, he failed to recognize and accept the constitutional provisions that guide GECOM for the holding of free and fair elections. Instead, he chose to wander off meaninglessly, introducing extraneous references that reflect his memory processed bias about a ‘bloated list’, a narrative on the decline principally because of a judicial decision in the case filed by Christopher Ram versus GECOM and the AG.
Jeffery’s reaffirmation of how politically biased he is, was demonstrated in his attempt to downplay the seriousness, relevance and applicability of the new electoral laws I referred to in my response to his scurrilous attack on GECOM claiming that that body is ‘incapable of fulfilling its mandate.’ This was clearly another attempt by Jeffery to create doubts in the minds of Guyanese about the fairness of the electoral process; never mind his awareness of the APNU+AFC’s mad rush to hijack the will of the electorate in favor of the APNU+AFC. This shamefulness, it seems, has no boundaries.
Apart from ridiculing the sum total of Guyana’s electoral architecture, Jeffery sought to downplay the important role played by international election observers. In this regard, he tried to bend reality around his mistaken opinion even in the face of evidence to the contrary.
Jeffery’s went a step further, in his letter he sought to create doubts about the legitimacy of the PPP/C government using his favourite hobby-horse to do so. To that end, he chose ‘nonsense over commonsense,’ preferring to be more confident in his own flawed opinions and, as a consequence, embracing the questionable electoral legacy of the PNC. In his attempt to rubbish my experience at GECOM and my views on governance, Jeffery countered by referring to ‘comparative social discourse’ to bolster what he started out by claiming that ‘Guyana is in its present perilous state.’ In so doing, Jeffery failed to recognize that when ‘comparative discourse’ trumps ‘contemporary discourse’ and contrasting factors are overlooked, the end result is that more recent socio-political occurrences become imprisoned by a generalized academic cliche enabling Jeffery to stray from the substantive matter under discussion.
Not satisfied with his effort to dash the hopes and aspirations of the Guyanese people for a more prosperous Guyana, Jeffery sought to make his pessimism appear attractive by besmirching and casting doubts about the conduct of elections in Guyana, he recklessly asserts, questionable majoritarianism at GECOM.’ Jeffery’s sketching of doubts about free and fair elections in Guyana was so gloomy that he couldn’t recognize how divisive and dangerous his views are on the matter. Small wonder why he failed to see both governments and GECOM’s efforts at ensuring that future elections in Guyana would be of the highest standard.
Jeffery letter demonstrated how indifferent he is at advancing constructive solutions to address issues such as domestic violence, climate change, poverty, labour relations and problems of development among others. His refusal to do so, caused him to support
a narrative of decline, making things appear worse, and obscuring actual progress taking place in Guyana. It therefore suited Jeffery to cast doubts on the developmental and governance architecture in Guyana.
Playing on fears that democracy is more a threat than an enabler of wishes of the electorate, Jeffery failed to realize that fear of a recurrence of the APNU+AFC’s attempt to steal the election, can be an effective source of vigilance and mobilization to avoid the reoccurrence of any unlawful act and to reject any attempt to subvert the democratic process.
Aware that the holding of free and fair elections has gained greater support publicly because of GECOM’s enhanced capacity to deliver their mandate efficiently and effectively, Jeffery’s pessimism and bitterness, appears to have consumed whatever remains of his objectivity
and academic astuteness. In his letter, Jeffery’s hangs on unabashedly to the fatalistic notion that there is no hope for free and fair elections in Guyana and that rigged elections will be the order of the day so long as opposition demands are not met irrespective of whether they are unconstitutional or ultra vires of ROPA.
He wants people to lose hope and be pessimistic about election in Guyana; to sap the peoples’ motivation and to discourage them from being hopeful and optimistic leaving them to feel frustrated, stymied and stuck in a rut. Rather than pontificating on ‘what African Guyanese are facing today …’ Jeffery needs to climb down from his armchair and walk a mile a day amongst and engage people in conversations about how they feel about where they live, what they do, and how they perceive their communities. In the city and towns, he would also hear about their struggles and hopes for sustained improvement in the cost of living, perceptions of corruption and about the fight against crime. Jeffery would recognize that Guyana is changing for the better not the worse. He would recognize the stark contrast between his bubble-some world and the dynamism of an economy that is gradually changing from one that, five years ago, was viewed as stagnant, depressed and lethargic. While numbers tell the whole story about winners and losers in an election, losers like Jeffery, thrive on a sense of opposition and injustice rather than a sense of dialogue and cooperation.
The attempt at stealing election results by operatives of the APNU+AFC should be considered an act against their fellow elector who, nowadays, increasingly express their abhorrence to elections rigging by those who try to convince them that abandonment of a ‘bloated list’ and the introduction of biometrics are panacea for holding free and fair elections. Jeffery and his influencers must understand that by dressing up themselves as born again democrats and by putting the plague on both houses claiming that, ‘both the PPP and the PNC have over many years been manipulating elections in Guyana and have deliberately constructed and sustained a bloated list register,’ will not in any way remove the stain on the PNC’s for their attempt to hijack the electoral process.
It is these kinds of misleading arguments that Jeffery and others propagate in an effort to deceive, while pretending to uphold the guard rails of democracy even as others who stand for justice and fair play expose the false and accusatory nature of their baseless narrative.
While many Guyanese continue to participate eagerly in nation building, and to work towards the attainment of a better life through hard work and personal sacrifice, others who live in their racist and judgment houses, try to frighten and convince their followers into believing that with G$29K or US$150 per month is what they are entitled to lift them
out of poverty. But one thing is for sure, the episode at Ashmins building won’t repeat itself anytime soon. And the threat to ‘brace for a bumpy ride’ is nothing new. With PNC around, there will always be a bumpy ride on the road to free and fair elections. In any event, it is GECOM that will be at the drivers’ wheel while the
PPP/C and international observers will exercise utmost vigilance to ensure that there are no roadblocks on the road to ensure that Guyanese elect a government of their choice.
Yours faithfully,
Clement J. Rohee
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