Dear Editor,
Instead of a new vision for Guyana, this new year begins with the three political parties asking Guyanese to play a game of three-card monte with them. First, the Leader of the Opposition calls for executive power sharing. This is immediately followed up by the AFC and its supporter Emile Mervin who argue against it, fearing the PPP and PNC would conspire to leave them out. Then to makes things worse, President Jagdeo concocts the statement that the rift in the PNC is the reason why he has backed away from “inclusive governance”.
In case the President is unaware of how the citizens of Guyana view him, everyone in Guyana knows he is not someone to be believed or trusted and that he would never share power unless he tries to manipulate a third term out of it. After all, in a power sharing arrangement, he could and would argue that the two term limit was under a different dispensation.
Let me use this opportunity to reject these Machiavellian utterings by the three political parties who want to continue to rule us and not govern us for their own greedy self-centred selves.
First of all, ACDA will not support any negotiated “shared governance” between the PPP and PNC or any other group. What is required is constitutional reform that has public participation and which gets rid of the Executive Presidency and Party Lists. It should also include Parliamentarians competing in constituency elections and not from party lists.
The current public display of their insincerity at the beginning of the new year is because politicians are interested in power sharing or sharing power among themselves, while what Guyana needs is “shared and good governance”.
Power sharing and shared governance are two fundamentally different concepts and realities.
Anyone reading the PPP’s “inclusive government” paper and the PNC’s “power sharing” paper will see the difference. The PPP’s idea of inclusive government is that of having a cricket team in which Africans who do not agree with their corrupt policies and non-vision, are the water boys and the 12th, 13th and 14th men. As such, Africans are included in the team (not even the best Africans at that) but don’t bowl or bat unless the game has been rained out. Like the current crop of prominent Africans in the PPP, they however dress up in immaculate white attire as if illustrating their purity while boisterously talking about “we team” winning even though they are excluded from any meaningful participation other than as paid token night watchmen and women. The call for inclusive government by the PPP and President Jagdeo’s current statements has been and continues to be a purposeful deception, a broken public trust and an international indecency.
Kwame Gilbert has been appointed as a Member of Parliament because many Indians are now becoming Pentecostal Christians and he is there to shepherd them into the fold at the next elections.
The PNC’s model of shared governance is also not good for Guyana. Their version calls for the captains of the PPP and PNC to select a cricket team by each captain choosing every other player (ministry). The result would be the sharing of racial spoils, continued and enhanced corruption, a dysfunctional and non-competitive team, destruction of democracy and the marginalization of Guyanese as a whole. Guyanese of all races and creeds should reject like ACDA does, both of these forms of political affronts to democracy.
ACDA believes neither the PPP nor PNC should be allowed to rule Guyana.
What is needed is a system that allows all Guyanese to be represented and in which Civil Society plays a prominent role. Currently Civil Society is left out and businessmen who claim to represent Civil Society are politically compromised, acting in their own self-interests at the expense of the common man. Examples abound.
With regard to the AFC, they continue to not have any ideas of their own (except a Freedom of Information Act). They have offered no vision with regard to good governance because they are anti-PPP and anti-PNC first, and pro nothing second. Instead of utilizing valuable time fighting for better governance through constitutional reform and civic participation before the next election in 2011, the AFC is fighting for something that is important but not as critical as Constitutional Reform. ACDA believes that any change in political architecture must involve all citizens of Guyana whether through a referendum or some other mechanism.
Guyanese citizens need to participate in defining the political system that will be used to govern them and not be driven by the intellectually, spiritually, culturally and emotionally challenged group of three-card monte tricksters who call themselves our political elites. Indeed Emile Mervin is correct when he continually states shared governance will never work with the current crop of politicians.
Missing in the debate by all the politicians and their surrogates are two issues. One is the reality that the Westminster system has failed Guyana and something more appropriate and practical needs to be put in place especially given the deep racial insecurities that exist.
Secondly, the greatest failure of the Jagdeo Presidency has been the lack of economic vision he has shown. Guyana is well-endowed with a wide variety of resources and these have been squandered or ignored because of party paramouncty, corruption, political functional illiteracy,
incompetence and sheer stupidity. The current floods prove this as many Guyanese have been greeted by increased poverty and sheer misery for the new year.
The current economic crisis in the sugar industry provides a visible example of economic malfeasance and political incompetence. We are producing sugar at 17 to 21 cents when the world market price is 8 cents.
Hence we have invested US S180 million dollars to reduce our costs to 11 cents in the next five years if everything goes right. For this to happen, we need to grow more sugar to make this mega investment profitable.
Is this in conflict with our need to grow more food for a hungry world given global warming? Wouldn’t it be more profitable and more sensible to grow more food and leave bio-diesel to Brazil?
Here are a few questions and thoughts for these non-visionary bosses controlling our destiny.
How will executive power sharing work when we have an Executive President who is above the Law and who can choose to be the Minister of Communications, the Minister of Energy or the Minister of the Environment whenever he wants? Will the Prime Minister have these same powers?
How does this power sharing or shared governance work when political parties use a “list” system? This “list” system is both anti-democratic and criminal. We currently have people from Georgetown representing communities whose names they cannot even spell and some of
them even believe Bartica is an island.
Why shouldn’t the Diaspora have two or three MPs in Parliament. The reality is that there are just as many Guyanese in the Diaspora as at home, many of them far more competent that those at home.
Why are there not designated MP seats for Amerindians who own 14% of our country and whose way of life and culture are being decimated.
Why should the Guyanese public trust politicians who are also lawyers. Many of our politicians are lawyers and many of them defend drug lords.
We have a criminal economy. Shouldn’t it be an issue of moral decency that lawyers who chose to defend drug lords (and it is their legal right) should not run for political office?
Very shortly, ACDA will be publishing a document on shared governance. The goal of this model is to promote a just multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-party society in which each citizen is equal before the Law.
Yours faithfully,
Eric Phillips
This letter reads like another “academic white paper”.Lots of ideas of what should be done but nothing to say how to get it done.For example,I’d like the writer to tell me and others how do you get the government and opposition to move in the direction he is suggesting.If he thinks that somebody is going to wake up tomorrow morning and say lets implement ACDA’s idea I’ll tell him that he hasn’t learned anything over the years.
Mr. Phillips et al,enough with this ideas airing exercise.We know you are all good writers,but tell the guyanese people what is ” THE PlAN”;that is what I am dying to hear.And let me say this,judging from the public reception that your and similar opinions are getting, I truly believe that Guyanese are happier with their government than with their opposition
Deal with the message, not the messenger! You don’t have to agree with Eric Phillips, but then your response shows a lack of appreciation for diverse views on hot button issues affecting Guyanese. Look at or listen to American talk shows and learn that it is an open society that allows public participation – debate and discussion – by its people that stands a better chance of evolving in a transparent and responsible manner. We need to publicly challenge our leaders and hold their feet to the fire in the interest of the public they claim to serve. The PPP and PNC are serving their own interests, not the people’s, and that’s why we’re contending the PPP and PNC cannot provide genuine leadership if they share power!
Jones,at first I thought you were attacking the writer,most ppl claim ACDA is a racist org and was wondering if you were down that line. I do think the writer make some valid points,but has you said,let us know how we are gonna implement it. I agree with you too.One of the best letters I have read in the papers in a long long long time.
Andy seems to be having trouble understanding my point.Nobody is arguing with the ideas of the writer,what I am saying is that ideas have been floating around for 16 years or more and nothing has changed.Sometime talk must stop and action must be taken.To me that time has long past because the leaders we know have failed the guyanese people.
And unlike Andy,I am not intimidated by the American Television personalities that he refers to so I don’t look to them to form my opinion or for their guidance.Infact I have sat in the same classroom at the same college with some of them so I know the herding mentalityy when I see it.Also living in the Washington DC area with a respected career gives me an opportunity to rub shoulders with these analyst and challenge their thinking even in an informal setting
According to the letter it seems as though Mr Phillips and ACDA will be publishing a document on shared governance very shortly, maybe it might reveal the plan you are so anxious to see. As for the public reception that illustrates to you happiness with the government,which public are you refering to?
Mr Phillips don’t you forget that more than fifty percent of the population voted for the President..
Really Eastbanner! Voted for the President?! What next?
Hey George and Milton, its the voting public he’s referring to in case you missed that,the public that freely elected their government the same as the American public elected their President,something that was missing for almost three decades under the Kabaka’s Iron Fist Rule. You both are allowing your biases to consume you. The Roman Empire fell,as well as other Empires,so did the Burnham’s Cruel Empire so get over it and move on. Be happy that you are former Burnhamites living in the only standing Empire that will fall one day too……LMAO
I remember the referendum to change the constitution to its present form. Slogans like “land to the tiller”, “vote for the house and kill the mouse” etc. The PNC was king in those days. Party card for jobs, scholarships etc. What happen now? They say when “you dig hole fuh you mattie you does fall inside youself” and the PPP should take warning. History does repeat itself. The constitution should be reverted to it republican form and politicians should stop tinkering with it. No back door politics – change your ways.
Well Said storme williams!!
In the past one get the impression that the ACDA was an arm of the PNC. That said, however, the letter writer did put forward some interesting points which many Guyanese would like to see implemented. Especially a more representational system of governance and not what is taking place today. I agree the current system of governance has failed to some extent and that a more participative system needs to be developed where the entire country is represented in parliament. Representatives of the people should be elected by the people. No one should be above the law.
ACDA A ONE MAN ORG EHEHEHEHEHEHE
TELL DEM WHA A-C-D-A STANDS FOR….
OH I FUGET IT STANDS FUH ALL GUYANESE INCLUSIVE…..
only losers call for shared governance because they can never win fairly at the polls.
WHAT mR. pHILLIPS SAY SOUNDS NICE,.. ..BUT MAY i REMIND HIM, ..in the 1950’s .elections were done, where individul candidates competed in each constituency, (first past the post as we called it) the result then was the ppp getting under 50% of the votes, but winning 75% of the seats ( ethnic voting) burnham and the British conspired to change this, so as to Get rid of ppp.. at the same time introducing the PR system.. which most of you present day constitutional ‘EXPERTS’ seemed satisfied and Gratified with over the 30 years when it suited your purpose… now , over 50% of the population, are excercising their rights ,to Elect who they prefer, you find the system DEFICIENT,..am I getting it right?…My approval rating of the present Regime, is LOW’ BUT WHEN I LOOK AT THE ALTERNATIVES BEING advanced by some of you I shudder at the thought…Our only sane alterative is to work through the present system ,in an enlightened and Coherent way, .eschewing, the current racist, emotional, soul- destroying rehtoric and activity,.. and when then Govt. sees REASON, from its adversaries , Im sure they will have no alternative but respond in kind,… Don’t forget the influence and power of the International Community… they will not sit idly by and support a Regime that is doing serious harm to its people… what the International community was seeing for the Last 10 yrs. was a govt. under threat from hostile opposition forces….that perception has to be changed, or the Guyanese will continue . the donwward spiral towards ZIMBABWE-ISM…
thats their main goal when it says “slo fiah and mo fiah” make country “ungovernable”……..that is what they do best…….
Baloney. No to shared government with those who destroyed Guyana. And, constitutional reform requires a referendum on changing the constitution.The people are however fed up with politicians in Guyana running their lives.No more politicking.Politicians are becoming a burden to the Guyanes taxpayer.They cannot be trusted.
Guyflag seems to be missing the whole point..it is not about what happened 50 years ago..it is about doing what is necessary for Guyana to move forward. The Westminster system has failed and will always fail in Guyana. Your suggestion to work through this insane system as the sanest way to go suggests you are blind to what is happening in Guyana. Lets say the pnc OR afc WINS AN ELECTION…DO YOU THINK GUYANA WILL BE BETTER OFF…ABSOLUTELY NOT. THE ISSUE IS NOT ABOUT RACE…AS IT APPEARS TO YOU AND OTHERS WHO DO NOT WANT CHANGE…THE ISSUE IS ABOUT ECONOMIC GROWTH..ABOUT RACIAL HARMONY…ABOUT JUSTICE…ABOUT STOPPING THE COUNTRY FROM DEGENERATING MORALLY, SOCIALLY, CULTURALLY AND ECONOMICALLY.
If Indians want to continue to punish as the majority of Guyanese are..then they can continue to support a Westminster form of Government, regardless of whom wins an election.
Like is only Indians voted for the PPP/C?
how many black were suffering under PNC rule with the very system you want changed now?
I keep asking one question over and over and over but no one wants to answer….
How did the PNC Burnham used to win over 70 percent of the same Guyanese votes?
How did Hoyte won 85 percent of the same guyanese votes?
Are you saying it was the same Indians that voted for Burnham & Hoyte for worse”punishment” than they are getting now?
You lost at every single free-fair and transparent elections since 92 and you are trying to regain power by foul means…
Why then did the same people voted the PNC out of power if they were so good kind and caring to its people?