…the consequences of an illegal regime
In its first iteration of leading an illegal regime between 1968 and 1992, the PNC inevitably morphed into a violent and tyrannical dictatorship. This shouldn’t surprise anyone, since the very act of illegally holding on to power inevitably creates dynamics that lead to the use of violence to coerce citizens into obeying commands of a regime which they have not legitimised by giving their consent. And that leads to societal destruction in all spheres.
So when you wonder what’ll happen after tomorrow when the present PNC Government becomes illegal, all you have to do is flip through the pages of any text – or google them – that describes Guyana under Burnham. A good description is provided by Clive Thomas – yes…the PNC SARA man! – in his 1986 book, “The Poor and the Powerless” as he describes the “Degeneration and Social Decay” created by the PNC:
“Guyana has been in a state of continuous crisis since 1975 and the manifestations of this are numerous. Consider the following: negative rate of growth of real product since 1975 with the result that per capita real income at the end of 1985 is less than that of 1970 and more than one-third below that of 1975.
Dramatic increases of malnutrition, and deaths from deficient nutrition-related illnesses, particularly evident in public institutions (hospitals, prisons, institutions for the aged, the disabled, etc); widespread and endemic shortages of foods as well as other basic items of consumption; shortages of raw materials, with the result that for the past decade industry, on average, has been utilising only 30-40 per cent of rated capacity.
In addition, electricity outages, scheduled for March 1986 at the time of writing, averaged 36 hours per week for all districts in the country. Unscheduled interruptions also occurred; double-digit inflation rates; unemployment estimated at over one-half the labour force following on large-scale public sector retrenchments; a virtual collapse of all the public utilities to the point where this constitutes a major obstacle to production; the dramatic deterioration of social services; drastic increases in crime, corruption, clientilism, graft and nepotism in public and private life to the point where they constitute themselves as a major factor of production (the fifth!) or non-production.
On external account: massive external debt, a rapidly deteriorating balance of payments deficit, (in excess of one-quarter of GDP for the period 1976-1984), and a deteriorating exchange rate; the emergence of a vast parallel market for all items; and m) a migration rate which in the most conservative estimates exceeds three-quarters the rate of natural increase of the population.”
And he didn’t even get to the assassination of his comrades, Walter Rodney and several members of the WPA!!
…GECOM
Your Eyewitness is still marvelling at the barefacedness of Granger’s subversion of GECOM as even a halfway credible body to conduct free and fair elections in Guyana. Openly trampling on 25 years of tradition created by his own PNC predecessors on using the Carter Formula to choose the critical position of Chairman – with a CASTING vote!! Gasp!! Even Burnham kept a fig leaf over the tight leash he kept on his “toothless poodle” Bollers as Chair, back in the day!!
Well, the matter of Granger’s high-handedness and unilateralism is with the CCJ, but it doesn’t look like they’re in any rush to undo that blatant violation of the letter and spirit of our Constitution. Granger thus begat Patterson who begat PNC-friendly Myers as the Dep CEO in accordance with the Lawrence Principle on hirings! Friends and PNC members are the anointed ones!
But the question about whether the composition of the GECOM Secretariat being dominated by one ethnic group is discriminatory was allowed to lapse because of the HR Head no-show.
Shouldn’t the courts decide??
…Holi
Holi commemorates the overthrow of a tyrannical ruler. How can anyone CELEBRATE Holi in Guyana when tyranny in this land is now launched with the beginning of a new PNC illegal regime??
What’s to celebrate??
