…the Police Force
If there’s one thing we’ve attempted to do more often than “constitutional change”, it’s “reforming” the Police Force. This has been floated so many times you’d swear the GPF is made of “cork”!! Your Eyewitness has carried on (ad nauseam!!) on the NEED for reform. There were the Brits, who wanted to keep us as loyal Kikuyus; and Burnham, who wanted to keep us as loyal bowers and scrapers! They ensured the Police were trained to keep their knees on our necks. Well…on the necks of most of us!!
So, where do we begin to count the reasons why ”police reform” never got nowhere?? Let’s start with the governments that succeeded Burnham and his successor Hoyte – the PPP. Now, if there’s ANY government that should’ve wanted – no, yearned! – to straighten out the Police, it should’ve been the PPP. After all, hadn’t they been hounded and harassed for the (in)famous 28 years?? Well, Rodney and the WPA did draw the fire away from them between 1974 and 1980. But yet!!
So, what went down?? Some say Laurie Lewis – the Police Head they inherited – might’ve had “files” on them. But your Eyewitness don’t buy that! While there had to’ve been some peccadilloes committed – it’s politics, ain’t it? – they couldn’t have amounted to much. Jagan was Mr Clean, and he’d showed that if any of his underlings stepped off the straight and narrow, he made sure they took the rap.
Others say they might’ve been afraid they were gonna be overthrown by the Police after the 1992 elections showed 92% of them supported the PNC. Yes…dear reader – they used to announce how the Disciplined Forces voted!! But let’s get serious, shall we?? Have you EVER heard of a Police Force overthrowing a GOVERNMENT?? A hot-dog stand, maybe; but NOT a government!! Police are trained to think LOCALLY – like hustling motorists for a fried rice, but not hustling a head of state out of office!!
Your Eyewitness believes there’s a much simpler answer. Jagan never liked firing people. The IMF had ordered Hoyte to slim down the bloated Civil Service, and he had started to do so. But Jagan refused to continue the axing. Not that he ever got any credit for that…but that was him and his “working class”!! His successors – Janet and Jagdeo – however, might’ve been more hard-nosed – but they were confronted immediately by a rampaging PNC under Desmond Hoyte’s “slow fyaah; mo fyaal” strategy!! They desperately needed the Police to keep the peace by any means necessary, and they weren’t about to poke no ants’ nest!!
Now, after Granger’s wholesale replacement of the Police leadership with his loyalists, the PPP’s taking flack for straightening his mess.
The deformed is finally being reformed!!
…the PNC
After democracy was restored in 1992, the PNC riggers were given the bum’s rush, as their “Committee to RE-Elect the President” (CREEP) failed to gain traction, and faced a dilemma. NO…not how to explain why they actually went to the polls backed by CREEPs – but how, say, with a straight face, they were supporting DEMOCRACY!!? After all, nobody heard any booming voice from the heavens to suggest a Damascene Conversion!!
Well, Hoyte set the ball rolling with the PNC-Reform (PNC/R) in 2001, by imitating the PPP’s “CIVIC” with a welter of new fresh faces. Didn’t work, and he passed on. Corbin then had the bright idea of creating the PNC/Reform/One Guyana. But the acronym came out PNC-R1G!!! Couldn’t live it down at the 2006 elections. By 2011, they linked up with 4 paper “parties”, themselves APNU – and did better!!
For 2015, they hitched up with the AFC as APNU/AFC and took government!! Then Granger decided to RIG in 2020!!
Leaving a name change for Aubrey for 2025!!
…the AFC
WE all know you can’t cash the same cheque twice, don’t we?? So, what’s Ramjattan gonna be doing with the AFC after announcing they’re no longer joined at the hip with APNU??
Claim jumbie hold him after 2015??
