Dear Editor,
Nothing will please our people more than an unequivocal apology from the PNC (APNU) and the AFC for the heinous wrongs meted out to us for more than three decades of misrule, dictatorship, and squandering and mismanagement of the economy.
It brought tears to my eyes, and my heart became overwhelmed with grief as I listened to Vice President Dr Jagdeo’s press conference last Thursday, as he related the traumatic experience of the people of this country under the PNC. It was a time when it was a crime to be in possession of basic food items, and when people were taxed to travel along the roadways – many of us will remember the toll gates which emptied our pockets even more.
When will the PNC apologise for the blatant rigging of General Elections from 1968 to 1985? When will they apologise for the nearly five months of numerous attempts to steal the 2020 Elections in front of the entire world?
The PNC has never been a Government ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people’. I wish to submit that PNC has never been an Opposition which reflects the will of the people. In fact, it has been equally worse as an Opposition, if not more detrimental to this nation.
One of its New Year’s resolutions should not only be to apologise for these heinous crimes, but to make a vow never to repeat them. Only then will its members and supporters have some confidence in them; until then, they will continue to move away. It is one thing to attempt to rig, but it’s totally unacceptable when you claim that you won the 2020 Elections but cannot submit your ‘winning’ SoPs, and then have the audacity to go to the courts for redress. You cannot fool all the people all the time.
We have seen the many acts done to destabilise the duly elected PPP/C Government on more than one occasion. Just recall the 23 years from 1992 to 2015, and the period from 2020 to now. Dr Rouf Ahmad Bhat wrote, in the introduction to his Paper titled ‘Role of Opposition Party in Democracy’ (the International Journal of Science and Research) that ‘The Opposition is as important as that of ruling party. They ensure that the acts of the ruling party are not detrimental to the interest of general public or nation at large. The role of the Opposition party is not to oppose every decision of the ruling party. Rather, it is the duty of the Opposition party to support the ruling party for the acts that are in the interest of the nation. The Opposition parties play a very significant role in a democracy as representatives of the people. The Opposition acts as watch dog of the system. In such countries where there is a two-party system in vogue, the Opposition party forms a shadow cabinet to exercise vigil over the performance of the Government.’
The Opposition in Guyana is the reverse of what is expected, since they oppose each and every action of the Government without offering a better alternative. We have seen that even when they pledged support to the Government in Parliament, they opposed their own decision in public. They feel that if they support the Government’s decision on any issue, then that will be counterproductive to their ambition to be the next Government. We have seen the feeble arguments of the Opposition whenever the Budget is debated in Parliament. We have read and listened to people like Lincoln Lewis, Rickford Burke, Sherod Duncan and others. It is time for the Opposition to fully understand its role, and act accordingly. This should be one of its New Year’s Resolutions.
The Opposition and its sympathizers have failed to recognize the massive socio-economic development taking place in Guyana, and are bent on decrying the economic policies of the Government. It is even claimed that the Dutch Curse is already upon us. This is just to prey on the gullibility of some people, who feel that sharing out the oil profit and giving huge increases in wages and salaries will end poverty; but this is the very recipe for that Curse. This Government is using the oil money to develop all the sectors, including major infrastructures which are vital for social and economic transformation. The oil will not last forever, and what will happen when the oil revenue dries up? The Vice President had explained this on many occasions, that there will be time when these increases will not be sustainable, but the Opposition continues to mislead the people. I will ask the Opposition to come clean on this issue in the New Year. Vow to tell the truth, be a responsible Opposition.
The PNC, under different names, including the Coalition, have never done any good for this country, and even when they were given an opportunity in 2015, they squandered that opportunity. The list of wrongs committed on the Guyanese people is an extremely long one, but I am sure that they can at least apologise for the major ones. Change can only come from accepting the wrongs you have committed. Albert Einstein once said that, ‘the measure of intelligence is the ability to change’.
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
