Dear Editor,
My country of birth, this beautiful land called Guyana is poised for further destruction if sensible heads cannot come together to right the wrongs of our short history. I believe in free and fair elections and I would support any party that wins the upcoming elections, but as I look forward I am cognizant of the fact that both major political parties since 1964 were given the chance to govern with nothing positive to prove their competence.
My concern is that as both political parties gear up for elections I am not seeing anything in their strategy that suggests that there are any intentions of approaching governance differently. It seems to be business as usual. But look at where that got us. Both the PNC and PPP are fixed in their traditional mould of ‘selecting’ their presidential candidates. The entire process appears to be the distribution of spoils rather than looking at the dire needs of the masses and working on a strategy to make the dreams of the people a reality.
One would think that the opposition parties, which include the AFC, would have learned from the past and would be looking at different ways to approach our political dynamics. I had the opportunity of listening to the end of last Saturday’s Demerara Waves broadcast. Mostly persons are simply stuck in the past and the hatred spewed. Persons all agreed that we needed change but the approaches suggested remain the same old, same old.
I also believe in change, but it is not merely about a change from one party to the next. It must be about changing out the old wine and bringing in the new. It must be about a new culture of our politics, a new ideology. It should be about a change from stagnation to development, from an old breed of politicians to a new breed – this time with women’s leadership.
The news item ‘A Guyanese female presidential candidate?’ follows up on a letter a few months ago that dealt with this topic. I totally agree that there is a chance to change the dynamics of our political culture and stimulate development in Guyana with a female at the helm. While there are many qualified females capable of doing the job, I personally believe that Clarissa Riehl is more suited to deal with the intricacies of getting elected.
Although Mr Granger has served Guyana well in the past, I would venture to say that Ms Riehl has the potential to break down many more barriers. She would stimulate the female voters and you know how well you know who had females working for him. Other than that it’s about getting cross-over voters being comfortable with the presidency. I am not ashamed to mention it. It is one of the major dynamics. I would recommend Madam Clarissa Riehl if I was in a position to have a say. I hope that if she is asked she would make the bold step forward.
Yours faithfully,
F Skinner
