Dear Editor,
Beyond the shadow of doubt mediocrity rests firmly in the flaked and tarnished cup of the PPP. The posture of the AFC with its short but telling history of deceptive politics will most likely follow the similar opportunistic behaviour of Manzoor Nadir’s The United Force, and become an auxiliary of the PPP for several obvious reasons, and the reality is that the intellectual pool of the PNC leaves little room for infiltration at a substantial level. The question is, will Raphael Trotman and a few others whom I am concerned about, like the Dragoons and Hussars of Cardigan’s Light Brigade, charge into the cannon of obliviousness, or with some rendezvous at the National Park, embrace an ignoble pact. Or will they choose the last and difficult choice, to seek the collective liberation of the masses they so often profess concern about. We can only wait.
At the Mocha 5th Commemoration of the assassination of Ronald Waddell, Jonathan Adams raised the question of why the PNC presidential candidates did not rally around a specific choice and consolidate all efforts towards the struggle before us. He was addressing the two candidates present, Brigadier (rtd) David Granger and lawyer Basil Williams. The PNC candidates represent an array of needed talents in crucial areas, that would constitute the expertise capable of arresting the laughable and deplorable external and internal condition of Guyana in 2011. Recently Harry Gill, a frequent political commentator of late, asserted that David Granger is too loyal a soldier to make a good president. How does one arrive at such a statement when almost every colonial governor of Guyana was a veteran military commander; President Kennedy and Churchill, among others, were all former good soldiers who are historical icons. The advantage the former Commander has is that a) he understands the necessity and functions of a line of command; b) he recognizes that merit comes first, unlike the politician or bureaucrat who assigns duties to the one who flatters and strokes the ego, while the good commander has to assign the gun to the trooper who can carry and effectively deploy that weapon even in unconventional terrain; c) for unbecoming conduct there is no ‘Oh me gosh’ fallback, which politicians have used in relation to many of the people who got away with crimes in the police force, the trade unions, religion and the public service. Today, with their compromised values, they have contributed to the culture of lawlessness which is instructing our youth. That it’s not skills training, education and standards that count, but instead drug running, political connections and ‘who yuh know’ that matters in the present style of governance.
The situation in Guyana today requires tremendous work to rise above the narcotics trade, functional corruption, tragic political leadership, and being the second poorest country in the region, David Granger must lead that team; he has the discipline, humanity and administrative confidence to formulate a formidable battle strategy, because Guyana has to rise from this period of retrogression and public waste.
Yours faithfully,
Barrington Braithwaite
