Mr Green needs a lesson in Guyanese History

Dear Editor,
I write to share my concerns with you in respect to a letter appearing in the Letters to the Editor Column written by Hamilton Green of the Thursday June 11, 2020, edition of Kaieteur News newspaper, which letter speaks of a certain date in June 1964, some 56 years ago.
Mr. Editor, Mr. Green — who appears rather senile in the manner of his diction and of his memory of a certain date in June 1964 — seemingly wants to impress upon the readers of his letter that his recollection of things that happened in Guyana in June 1964 are the only important precursor event relevant to June 2020; and that 56 years ago, our business back then had nothing to do with non-Guyanese persons; and that it was all only an internal Guyanese affair, a sort of secret society.
Mr. Editor, Mr. Green needs a lesson in Guyanese History. I don’t know how on earth right-thinking persons of Guyanese descent in the nineteen sixties could have even thought of electing a politician like him to serve them. Well, I did hear talk that he had had himself rigged in to office, and thus served illegally and illegitimately as a Prime Minister of our great nation, but in a period which is now referred to as “Guyana’s Dark Sixties”.
As a former Caribbean History CXC teacher at Skeldon Line Path Secondary in 1991, I am still very well aware of West Indian leaders’ input into the affairs of Guyana, as many British leaders who lived at the time were involved in politics.
In this letter, Mr. Green even goes on to try to give advice to Guyanese political leaders in present day. Give me a break! How someone with his questionable past and from so dated a period — and now holding a non-relevant capacity in the current national affairs of Guyana, or within the past 30 years in national politics — could even try to do this sort of thing is beyond me. He should be leaving that job to people like Mr. Granger of APNU, or Mr. Dominic Gaskin of the AFC. Giving advice is surely not his forte, I propose.
I know of Mr. Green. He is a has-been politician who is like a spent bullet after leaving a gun’s chamber – of ABSOLUTELY no use in our political arena today. Georgetown fired him. He left the City a disgraced mayor and went into seclusion, and I guess was hoping that the legal officer attached to City Hall would not find him to serve him court documents in efforts to retrieve all the funds unlawfully unaccounted for by him.
Our Guyanese society, and I would like to think most Guyanese who recently voted, are strenuously trying to rid themselves of people like him in our political arena, as people like him are only bent on stealing from the coffers to fill their own pockets, and don’t really give a hoot for the poor people who sleep on their floors with little or no food in their kitchens, and those who climb on the backs of their fellow Guyanese and unfairly take what isn’t theirs.
I would like to advise Mr. Hamilton Green, other long forgotten past Parliamentarians, and others who may still be interested in learning some things about running a country and allocating its resources, that to make a country strong and economically viable in a period 20–25 years into this century; a country having come from a society last century where slavery was the order of the day; much urban planning is required by the leaders. There has to be much steadfast teamwork, sterling display of citizenry and great commitment is necessary.
The 2021 community leaders must avoid implementing programmes that result in making us become poorer, for I often get dreams of my fellow Guyanese who are seen still sleeping “hungry belly” and then waking up to a vicious life of dire poverty.
Editor, we Guyanese went through WW2 in the 1940s as part of the Allies team, to place human dignity and democracy on the forefront of human existence, and we suffered through the aftermath of the economic model of plantocracy in the 1950s. We started eagerly upon a course in the 1980s as a Co-operative Republic, and we have been given a written guide.
GUYANA has oil, which is given to us by God, and this takes shrewd, and savvy politicians to manage that sort of enriching resource.
The job of being a politician needs a committed Guyanese, not a mere citizen. He or she must be an individual who acts unlike a “morbid sleepy Joe” at the top; or a dual citizen with a safety valve; or a racist, bigot, or sinful person. The vocation of a Guyanese politician demands a higher calling from the rest of our populace. Such an individual must also attend proper post-secondary schools to reinforce their knowledge, as knowledge is surely an ingredient of the job functions of a politician.
They must study courses in Political Science, Economics, Business Administration, Law, Sociology, Psychology, Public Policy, Urban Studies, etc., and become knowledgeable of the tools and mannerisms necessary to make one adept at allocating resources diligently and effectively in a society; because, sooner or later, power will be invested in their hands, and they ought not to abuse the use of power, but to use it wisely when needed. They should go to schools like the University of the West Indies or such like universities, which have programmes catering to Guyanese students entering their roster every academic term.
I can think of a few such politicians in the Caribbean over the past century, who have made their marks and have helped their countries greatly; none were Guyanese.
We were fortunate as a people, as we did not have to fight a war to secede from our mother country, and we got independence handed to us at a time when British plantation owners were losing their grip in colonies like British Guiana. This is what I used to teach my students at Skeldon Line Path Secondary.
Mr. Granger has served Guyana for 4 years. Whether viewed as a loved leader or a dictator, democratic hegemony becomes a learning lesson for us Guyanese; and as the world turns, so does Guyana. But let us not leave our country behind, and please let us not dwell on any day in June 1964, as the writer of that letter would like us to do. For surely by doing so, we stand to get distracted from keeping our eyes on the ball.
Rather, let us look at June 2020! Today matters!
Take a look at what people like Tim Jonas, Bharrat Jagdeo, Lenox Shuman, etc., well respected politicians are advising us about our times, and understand the predicament we, as a nation, are in.
We all know that a few can’t rule the majority – South Africa is a good example. Majority rule is the better option. I trust that come July 2020, Guyana would hopefully be in a position to say, “I’m back!!!” and in a big way, much like the famous coined phrase of a former California Governor, and a true politician of great ilk in the Western Hemisphere.

Sincerely,
M Shabeer Zafar
Barrister Solicitor
Notary