On the Political Focus of the Alliance for Change
The AFC is still a young political party. ; We are still growing. What encourages us in the leadership of the Party is that every day, Guyanese continue to voice an increasing frustration with the decadent and counterproductive political culture that continues to take our backwards. I believe, the AFC believes that the change in the political equation that the AFC seeks is the change that people seek. It will take courage and resolve on the part of both the AFC and the people of Guyana to break those shackles of ethnic cleavage and tribalism that lie at the very heart of our political culture. That is what has driven political behaviour over the years and that is what we must break if Guyana is to go any place. What the AFC has demonstrated above all else is that we are capable of staying the course in our quest to bring a new political culture to our country.
On the AFC’s Objectives in 2011
What the Alliance for Change seeks is a decisive shift from the centralization of power to the devolution of power. We believe, as in my opinion, does most Guyanese, that the highly centralized system of government in which real power is concentrated in the hands of a minority of like-minded people, the President and the government in this instance has led to many of the more serious defects in our society; defects like corruption, a lack of accountability and transparency, seriously flawed decision-making, highly prejudiced state institutions and, in many cases, the denial of the fundamental rights of our citizens. This has been our political legacy for more than forty years. These, in my view, are the weaknesses that have stunted the growth and development of our country. We cannot lay claim to being a genuinely democratic state in circumstances where the vast majority of our people have no say whatsoever in the decision-making process in our country. Democracy is about widespread popular participation in the management of our society through institutions that make room for civil society participation. The AFC is about ensuring the creation and effective functioning of those institutions; that is why, for example, a robust Local Government system is so critical. The devolution of power demands the completion of local government reforms including the resuscitation of Village Councils.
What is also critical to the devolution of power is a reduction of Presidential powers and the greater empowerment of Parliament. as the supreme source of authority under the Constitution with the Prime Minister as Head of Government. Serious consideration should also be given to the establishment of a Senate that will enhance civil society participation – including the participation of the religious, business, trade unions, and professional bodies in the governance of our society.
On Guyana’s International Image
What concerns the AFC most is the need to restore hope to the people of Guyana, to persuade them that our country is capable of rising far above what it is today and to cause them to want to work with us for that change. The PPP is pursuing a drumbeat that is not convincing anyone. I believe that inside Guyana frankness is being stifled by fear. When you look at what the international agencies are saying about Guyana, however, you get a more enlightening picture. Those agencies are making a number of important points. They are making the point about human rights transgressions and the government’s indifference to those transgressions; they are making the point about the extreme levels of corruption that exist at the levels of officialdom; they are making the point about the concerns of potential investors who are staying away from Guyana for reasons that have to do with crime and other factors. They are also making the point about some of the questionable figures being turned out by the government about how well our economy is performing. If you examine what has bewen happening in recent months, the government has become preoccupied with protesting the various reports by the various international agencies which draw attention to the various ills in our society. The truth is that they recognize that they cannot manipulate external views on what is happening here. They can conceal information from people at home but they cannot hide the truth from those agencies that are monitoring what is happening in the country. The recent revelations by Assistant Commissioner Paul Slowe also gives us some interesting insights into what is happening in the police force. Again, we have agencies like the US State Department and Amnesty International who are able to monitor and expose the truth about torture and illegal killings in the country. The government is all about concealing the ugly truths about some of the things that are happening in Guyana. What they clearly do not understand is that in an age when communication has become so advanced they simply cannot hide those truths. We in the AFC want to continue to ensure that people get access to that kind of information so that the administration can be made to account for itsa misdeeds.
On internal differences within the AFC
Political parties are no strangers to differences of opinion. The democratic nature of the AFC means, inevitably, that there will be differences of opinion. Even now there appears to be huge differences of opinion within the leadership of the PPP and the PNC. We in the AFC differ in terms of our preference for open and democratic ventilation of such differences as may arise. The assurance that I would wish to give, however, it this; We are, all of us, committed to a single position on the issues such as democracy, the upholding of human rights, bringing an end to graft and corruption, creating a fully racially integrated society and creating a social and economic structure in which all of the people of Guyana can participate and from which all of the people will benefit. I am not sure that those who claim that there are differences within the AFC are committed to those goals. On this question of “rotation of leadership” let me say this: Rotation as far as the leadership of the AFC is concerned is a non-issue in terms of the 2011 general elections. As far as we are concerned the priority lies in the creation of a grand alliance to bring an end to the various ills that the PPP has visited on our country. I have already indicated to the AFC in writing that I will not be seeking either the presidential or the prime ministerial candidacy in 2011. That, of course, is more than the various PPP functionaries who, these past few months, have been engaged is positioning themselves for that party’s nomination can say. In addition to that, of course, we have been hearing these strange soundings from within the PPP about a Jagdeo ‘third term.’ I have a funny feeling that it is the PPP that is really under pressure to persuade its supporters that it is not faced with a serious internal power struggle ahead of the 2011 elections. Rotation of leadership is not an issue for the AFC in the 2011 elections. We need to understand, however, that the PPP and its ‘hired guns’ are doing what they have done best for decades, seeking to divide people along ethnic and other lines.
On a 2011 elections alliance
We are not averse to an alliance of like-minded political forces to contest the upcoming general elections. We cannot afford to be ambivalent about this. We are, however, a democratic party and the ultimate decision will have to be made through our own internal democratic process. What we will not do is compromise those goals, those principles which we believe in and which we are convinced will bring real and positive change to our country. The point is, however, that the crisis in which we find ourselves demands that those political forces that are prepared to thoroughly commit themselves to democracy, freedom and the right of all of the people to participate in the running of our country pool their energies and their resources to bring change to our country. In this regard we have some distinct advantages. We have no social, cultural or ethnic axes to grind. The AFC is about Guyanese, all Guyanese; so that our constituency is not located in any particular ethnic group or geographic region. Our constituency is all of Guyana and that is what we seek in any coalition arrangement.
I intend shortly to recommend to the AFC’s executive that we commence a national listening tour so that we can provide the leadership of the party and the Convention with all of the possible options. We propose to make decisions that are based on a clear understanding of what the leadership and members of the party want and that will have to be rooted in our own reading of the soundings on the ground. What I can say, however, is that we will do what is best to help remove our country from this most inglorious episode in our history that has characterized the management of our country under the PPP.
On the pillars of the AFC’s 2011 strategy
Apart from our focus on building strategic alliances at home we are also seeking the support of Guyanese in the diaspora. We believe that those enlightened Guyanese who have, for years, viewed the unfolding difficulties in their country from a distance understand the need for change. We believe that they, like us, are aware that the extant political arrangements have taken us nowhere. What we believe, too, is that the vulgar appeal to race that has long been the bedrock of garnering political support has lost its effectiveness. There is now a greater understanding of the importance of uniting Guyana and of having a government that will work in the interests of all of the people of this country. More and more people both at home and in the diaspora are saying this to us; and we believe that to the case. Because we are an inclusive political party, therefore, and because we believe that Guyanese in the diaspora have a right and a duty to play an active part on the affairs of our country we are reaching out to them aggressively to help us bring change in 2011.
Our greatest ally in 2011 will be the broad masses of young Guyanese whom, also, have demonstrated that they have left the politics of race behind. The discourses that took place at our recent Youth Forum were most instructive. The young people of the country, young people of every race, have now made it clear that they will not seek refuge inside any kind of insidious ethnic shelter when the time comes to cast their ballots in 2011. A great deal of what we have done since the establishment of the AFC has been in the area of educating our young people, causing them to recognize that their interests do lot lie in taking refuge in ethnic cleavage but in working for the creation of a single, united Guyana which is the only basis on which we can go forward. Young people will definitely have a major say in 2011.
