Mark Lyte, PPPC candidate

Jul 18, 2025 Editorial, News

Kaieteur News – Guyana’s teachers have every right to think that they were betrayed. They are already saying so, in no uncertain terms. Former Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) president, Dr. Mark Lyte has now declared for the PPPC in the looming September 1^st elections. Angry and distressed teachers may see a violator of their cause, a failure in their fight, but Lyte may see himself as a potential minister. He represents the pieces that the PPPC has traditionally looked for, coveted, in a potential minister. The former GTU president can be counted on as a partner to work on a deal and get it done, in the very skilled ways that partners do. He can be trusted to maintain his peace, since he knows in whose hands his fate rests, when he made his fateful decisions, crossed the point of no return. And finally, Dr. Mark Lyte could be that most useful of political figures: one with some residual sharpness inside, which makes him the best of devoted soldiers to his new calling.

Whatever is said of Dr. Lyte, no one should be so careless as to forget that one of the foundations of democracy is freedom. He is entitled to his constitutional freedom to assemble and to associate with any political group of his choice. He has a right to stand for any leader that he idolizes, would like to do more business with and for. These sensitive aspects of democracy can get crushed in the passions and prejudices of Guyanese elections, as the past has demonstrated forcefully to all citizens. Despite all of this being said, Guyana’s teachers have to be made of stone not to taste bitterness, not believe that they were abandoned and thrown to the wolves by their leader in a tough time. In a tense strike situation, when they depended on and expected the best out of their president, trusted him to represent them, they got what was settled for then, which was a dollar short, and a slap in the face.

On Monday, July 14^th, Nomination Day, matters came full circle, with Lyte a conspicuous presence in the PPPC’s list for the September elections. Those who were critical, from the day that the strike terms were abruptly and mysteriously wrapped up, can now feel justified. The deal ending the long, tension-filled strike was done in a hurry and with the greatest stealth. There was an element that couldn’t be shrugged off, or denied back then: the strike deal bore all the footprints of an operation conducted by night crawlers accustomed to doing their business under the cover of darkness. How else should Guyana’s public-school teachers interpret the movement of their former president then, and where he has found a place for himself now? This was where union head, Mark Lyte left them, then swiftly distanced from them, while all the time insisting on his grip around such grand attributes as honour and character.

The politicians who were close to that strike bargain that ended it, were pleased with themselves then, and reap additional rewards today. All the players are happy, with only teachers being the exception. They think of themselves as getting a raw deal, due to what was a fixed deal. Yet again, the issue of who to trust, and who to watch, sticks itself into the face of citizens. Guyanese have been betrayed for decades by their leaders, and always live to regret the ugly consequences of their choices. Few of their political people are exempt, none can claim to be innocent.

From 60-70 years ago, fast forward to this millennium. The discovery of oil has led to the biggest betrayals ever of Guyanese by the political leaders they trusted to give them the best representation. The PPPC began the sellout in 1999, the APNU+AFC Coalition’s actions virtually enslaved Guyanese from 2016 onwards, and the present PPPC Government has walked back all its commitments on how boldly it would move to “review and renegotiate” all contracts. It has been more than democracy faltering, more in the nature of trust violated and principles cleverly and cheaply cast aside. It shouldn’t surprise, therefore, when Guyana’s teachers react to their former president’s move as part of a continuum.

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Editorial, Guyana Teachers Union, Mark Lyte, PPPC, PPPC candidate

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