Dear Editor,
I have a serious question for Guyanese, especially the current Government of Guyana (the APNU+AFC). What exactly is social cohesion and what measurable criteria need to be met for this to be achieved?
Social cohesion to me means the coming together of groups of peoples with differing views and differing cultures to promote unity. Such unity is envisaged by our motto of ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’. After over one year in government, is the political will there to achieve this unity or is the talk of social cohesion just rhetoric?
For social cohesion to stand a chance of working, you need to build trust between people. So, how can we get people who have been in protracted low-level conflict mode to start trusting each other? The obvious answer is that there needs to be more give and take in between the APNU+AFC government and the PPP/C opposition. This can only happen when President David Granger recognises that he needs to have more meaningful consultations with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo above and beyond what is catered for by Guyana Constitution. Once the citizenry understand that the government and opposition are working together to iron out their differences, then they too will seek to resolve their differences.
Yours faithfully,
Sean Ori
