Self-determination is the answer for Region 10

Dear Editor,

When I learned that Linden was planning a protest on the occasion of President Ramotar’s visit to the area, I was hopeful that finally the President would be forced to address the failed promises he made to the region. I should have known better. I hate to say I told you so, given that I was the one who predicted that with Sharma Solomon now in a political box, any effort by him will be deemed political, thus guaranteeing failure.

President Ramotar must be having an ecstatic last laugh. He was able to walk into the city which caused him so many headaches less than two years ago, and walked back out without having to deliver on his agreements, promises and commitments to the region. Further, he was able to re-open his party’s office while the Wismar school construction remains stymied. It must be a fantastic feeling laughing at the blundering so-called leaders of the community. Another victory under the belt.

As I observed Saturday’s crumbling resistance, which started as a grassroots effort, striving for the betterment of Linden and the region, I could not help wondering about the result if the same situation were transferred to a Port Mourant, Rose Hall or Skeldon. Linden’s response to the President’s failings on his commitments to the community was pathetic.

The following is mainly for the people of Region 10 and Linden. The question is, how did all of this happen? How was the President able to do that? I hope they are listening. They are locked in as a political pawn and I see no political solution. Their only answer is self-determination. Fact is, all the things Sharma fought for before he was placed in a political straitjacket and all the agreements government is failing to deliver are the beginning of that self-determination. Linden must find a way to get the government to deliver on those commitments.

What is self-determination? It is the people of Linden solely or at least majorly responsible for investment and development projects in the region. It is a kind of self-governance without breaking away from the constitutional structure of the country. The representatives of the region must stake a place at the planning table. Self-determination for the region can be institutionalized by parliament, changing the way developmental projects are addressed in the region. But the activism must be a grassroots effort, so intense that the politicians cannot afford to turn a blind eye.

It is becoming clearer every day why none of the political parties would do anything for Region 10. The main opposition political party does not want anything positive to happen in the region while they are out of office because the party in office will get the credit. For the party in office, it is firstly retribution for the region not accepting various olive branches since 1992, and right now they want to use their agreement with Sharma as leverage to get certain concessions from the majority opposition in parliament.

There are many examples of this. Prime Minister Hinds last letter to SN, ‘The road on which Granger, Roopnaraine, Solomon and Norton are taking Linden/Region 10 leads to a dead end,’ explained what is going on. To pre-empt the President’s visit to the region the Prime Minister, with that statement, was discrediting the intended protest. With Sharma now being an executive in the PNC, the Prime Minister was able to tag the activity as political.

Also, mere hours before the visit, when one would have thought all Linden and the regional executives and business concerns were on the same page, there were factions coming out, distancing themselves from supporting the intended protest – a protest that was supposed to get the President to deliver on his commitments, thus placing Linden on the road to better times.

There are many examples where self-determination is the way to go. The people of Region 10 should stop depending on politicians. Stop thinking that they care about anyone. Stop thinking that when they get into power they are going to give one something. Stop thinking that education and a job are the only answer. In a country where government jobs are the main ones available, one can be kept in poverty. The answer is education and one looking, at the earliest opportunity, to create jobs for self and others.

Look at this fact in the United States. The majority whites always had the government of their choice, yet there are many poor whites. African Americans have the NAACP, the Urban League and many more organizations looking after their interest. Even the government claim they have the Africans’ interests at heart. Now there is Obama. Yet the groups with the highest median household income in the US are the Asians. I do not have to tell anyone that Asians do not have any obvious representative in power. Their success is due to self-determination. Those with considerable representation, a lot of organizations fighting their cause, are at the bottom. It goes to show that it is more about what one does personally rather than one’s representation.

One more point about self-determination and why it is relevant in Guyana. Except for the sugar industry, Indians are extremely self-determined in their ways. On the other hand, Africans depend on and are dominant in all the government jobs. As a result, they are always underpaid and undervalued – always fighting for a raise from ridiculous wages.

For this reason, Indians generally do not actually care which government is in place and would do well regardless. All they ask for is security, a safe environment to work and do their businesses. One would wonder why they continue to vote one way. It is because they believe that with the PPP/C they have a better chance to get that security. And why would they never get that security with the PPP/C? It will allow them to spread their wings, and that may make them complacent and start voting issues.

Some persons are hopeful for some form of breakthrough in the politics now that the President has signalled his intention to have discussions with the opposition on budget issues. Maybe someone is about to see reason and wants to push on with the country’s development. Maybe the majority opposition can get some positive concessions from the government. I am not that hopeful. What I think is happening here is the government has found what they think is a winning strategy, to win back votes they lost at the last elections. The opposition is strategizing to catapult back into contention by default – meaning by trying to get the party in power to look incompetent. But the government and the PPP/C are bent on proving the opposition are obstructionist and will use every issue to this end. When it is apparent they have succeeded they will go to the polls. That is a never-ending cycle and Guyana’s development is placed on hold.

Self-determination in all groups is needed to stop the uncertainty we call a political system. Region 10/Linden, with its vast resources has more than enough potential for self-determination. The people of the region and Lindeners from all strata of life and affiliations need to come together and document what they need to achieve as a community – a thriving town/region, an influx of businesses, better wages and a better standard of living. Sharma has made an impressive start to this end. Getting the government to deliver on what is already agreed upon is a positive way forward. All stakeholders in the region need to get on page. Create an environment where the region can speak directly with potential investors. I love Sharma. I admire the work he has done thus far, but he may need to give up his executive position if he intends to maintain credibility to represent a proletarian effort.

By no means am I neglecting or disregarding the roles politicians can play. When a politician delivers on the job he/she promised and is elected to do, that person must be applauded. That is why I think the time has come for me to say how disappointed I am with the role Prime Minister Hinds is playing as it relates to Linden. I hope he is listening. We are all well aware of his past attachment to the bauxite company. I recognize his input, back in the day, with establishing the chalk factory in Ituni and work at the research station. When Dr Jagan plucked him out of GUARD, in the midst of his activism, to represent the ‘C’ in the civic component of PPP/C, a lot was expected from him.

For years, I have been giving the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt, but with his last letter to SN that was alluded to above, in which he wrote, “We in the PPP/C have more right than anyone else, particularly Mr Solomon and APNU, to be disappointed over the lack of mutual agreement and movement on the Linden committees. Our disappointment starts from the rejection, as well as the manner of rejection, of the agreement between us in budget talks of 2012,” it is quite clear the PM is quite aware of the gamesmanship coming from his party. Here, he explained Linden’s development – the agreements with Sharma – is placed on hold, to get back at APNU.

Forget what the opposition is up to. I think it is high time the PM begins to represent the ‘C’ in the PPP/C. Has he seen Ituni lately? When last did he travel the road from Linden to Kwakwani? The communities are deteriorating by the second. How can he continue to neglect his previous activism, and be the front-man as his party continues to place politics ahead of civic mindedness in the region he claims to love? The PM should be comfortably placed by now in his personal life to rock the boat. It is time he stands up for the rights of Linden or does a Ramkarran. In fact, that is his ace in the hole. No one will allow him to go there. So here again Linden has someone from the region with incredible influence to assist if he dares – if he cares.

I think giving Region 10 a chance at self-determination will kill the critics. All politicians who share this view should be allowed on board. The region should not contemplate the thought of ‘after’ the next elections. The time is now for Region 10. Its development should have started since yesteryear. Strive for self-determination. With self-determination anyway the political wind blows it will be cool. All over to Region10.

 

Yours faithfully,
F Skinner