Dear Editor,
We, as Guyanese, must always remember the past despite the fact that those in the PNC and the AFC would like us to conveniently forget it, especially disastrous events which transpired from 1964 to 1992 and 2015 to 2020, as well as what happened when the PPP/C became a minority government from 2011 to 2015. In actual fact, the performance of the APNU/AFC should be judged from 2011 to 2020, since they were together in their quest to wrest power. All Guyanese are cognisant of how the PNC destroyed their lives for the 28 years from 1964 to 1992, and this hardly needs repeating. Those were the dark days when buying food was a criminal act.
In this letter, I will deal mostly with what transpired from 2011 to 2015. In the 2011 General and Regional Elections were held on 28th November, and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic was victorious and won 32 out of the 65 seats. However, the APNU and the AFC, contesting on separate lists, secured 33 seats, giving them an absolute majority in Parliament, and this was the recipe for disaster. Together they unleashed their sinister plan and destabilised the socio-economic progress of the country, wreaking chaos and havoc as the PPP/C government came face to face with the venom of Ramjattan and Nagamoottoo. The latter was the ‘scissors man’, and he appeared more as the happy and sadistic executioner with his hands on the guillotine ready to destroy an entire country. They shredded the budget year after year, stymieing the socio-economic progress of this country. During the period 2011 to 2015, they cut the budget by over $90 billion, thwarting the progressive trajectory of this nation. Some of these debilitating cuts affected the electricity sector (Amaila Project), the Speciality Hospital, the CJIA Modernisation Project, ICT development, NCN and GINA, the Ethnic Relations Commission, Guysuco, etc. Every sector in some way was affected by Nagamootoo’s malicious ‘scissors’.
The APNU and AFC did not coalesce before the 2011 elections but did so in Parliament from then onwards to 2015. This paved the way for the No Confidence Motion submitted by Nagamootoo in August 2014, but he was denied the self-gratification of seeing the fruition of this move since the then President, Mr Donald Ramotar, prorogued parliament and made the final dissolution 6 months later. But the lies, deceit and false promises took their toll, and the more gullible Guyanese were fooled into giving the APNU/AFC Coalition a one-seat majority, which actually resulted in a return of the dark days of the PNC.
The infamous duo were more focused on their personal ambition and greed for money and power. The APNU was willing to sit back and allow the AFC to be in the forefront of the attack, which they gleefully carried out. A crying shame for these men who are without honour, who were viciously beaten, subjected to degrading and inhuman treatment and unjustifiably jailed by the same PNC, yet they clung on for dear life. It was clear that the AFC was not interested in compromises. They wanted to remove the PPP from government to satiate their lust for power and were willing to destroy this country in the process. Are we now seeing the same scenario being replayed, this time by the WIN political party? It is difficult not to conclude that the founder of this party and some of his members are not being motivated by the quest for vengeance like the duo from the AFC. This is a bad omen for the country and its people should the configuration of the next parliament allow this. Our people need to make an objective judgemental call after deliberate considerations. It is always prudent to remember that a bird in hand is always worth 2 in the bushes.
Today, it is poetic justice that the AFC has been unceremoniously kicked out of the Coalition after it has relegated itself to the toothless and subservient poodle of the PNC. It had lost sight of all its founding principles, which had existed on paper only, and for a long time its members have been exiting with great haste. It is doubtful that the AFC, which had once won 5 seats in 2006 and 7 seats in 2011, could even bring home 3 seats in 2025. Guyanese are wary of newcomers who have no proven track record, no persuasive manifesto and are surrounded by a gang of misfits, opportunists and rejects. If wishes were horses, then beggars may ride. If anyone feels that a country is run by doling out alms and not by smart social and economic policies that promote sustainable and inclusive growth by addressing inequalities, fostering innovation, and building resilient communities, then that is a sad miscalculation. They involve a range of strategies, including social protection, targeted investments, and policies that encourage both economic development and social well-being. Is WIN or any other political party capable of this, except the PPP/C?
It is highly probable that the PPP/C will once again repeat its performance at the poll in 2006 when it won 36 seats or even surpass this since the One Guyana initiative is bearing great dividends and more and more Guyanese are convinced that it is the only multi-racial party which can deliver on its promises to the people.
