Dear Editor,
All it took was a proposed no-confidence (NC) vote by the AFC to create confusion and panic within the ranks of the two main political power houses in Guyana. APNU’s critical support for the NC vote seems nothing more than a deceptive move in political expediency and is nothing about rescuing the ordinary Guyanese people or their constituency. Considering follow-up moves by APNU, one cannot help wondering if they were blindsided by the party that has a mere seven seats in parliament. What else can an astute thinking person conclude from the thought process that has led to this ridiculous declaration of a strategy – an ultimatum for, can you believe it, local government elections (LGE), when the natural flow, with the passage of the NC vote, should be focused on streaming towards general elections.
There are probably ten thousand reasons why LGE ahead of general elections (GE) is an act of futility but let us examine just a few:
The present government will still be in place. This fact encompasses every other reason. I am surprised that government has not jumped at the opportunity. It clearly would give then more time to do politicking, create scandals and such like, but rather they have decided to stare down the opposition in confidence, having used precedent – the Linden protest as an example – to establish the measure of the resistance. It is a win/win situation. They are surely convinced that nothing positive for the opposition will come out of this so they do not have to give up anything. They welcome the idea of street protest. They are praying it gets out of control. Businesses are already crying out and there will be great talking points to take to the constituency they lost in the last election. Dem people cann change.
Local government elections without a revision of all the LGE laws will not change anything that persists today – although some new faces will get income opportunities. And, the President will not sign the bills on his desk. Except in Georgetown where the Good Green Guyana may not contest again and while considering the small impact of the AFC if they decide to participate, there is no indication that the two major political parties will lose their influence in their local constituencies. Without updated laws, the new faces in PNC strongholds still stand to suffer from starved resources needed to help the ordinary people, which is the reason given for the LGE call.
Government has successfully shown the disrespect and devastation they can perpetuate with oversight. However, it is in this area everyone seems to have missed the big picture of what has already transpired, and is still in process in the opposition held local government districts. One can only conclude that the reason the government is still holding LG elections at bay is that the politicians are not satisfied that they are done with what they are trying to accomplish. I contend that when they are done, regardless of the outcome of LG elections, the system will be difficult to get back on its original footing and worse, as in the case of Region 10, there will be nothing of significance left for the regional body to manage. Newsflash – the giveaway of all the natural resources. Latest newsflash – Region Ten RDC being ignored in road rehabilitation.
To further make the point, consider the upheavals in Georgetown, Linden, Kwakwani, Bartica and Madhia, areas where the coalition APNU gets major support. It must be noted that, in general, the councils were never given the opportunity to be innovative when it comes to raising revenue, in the absence of starved financing from the treasury and the flawed tax collection system in which friends and associates can be exempted. One example is that the re-establishing of toll booths in Linden was never approved. Georgetown also has many examples of revenue and enforcement plans not approved.
The initial strategy after 1994 seems to indicate that these city councils must never be successful. But recently, there was an even greater leap – dissolve the legally elected bodies and replace them with Interim Management Committees (IMC) or simply nullify and bypass. Curbing corruption is the main reason put forward for this atrocity. Instead of involving auditors and law enforcement to bring the presumed culprits to justice, the plan indicates the shifting of the corruption capabilities from the duly elected officials to those who were appointed. It is so glaring. In Georgetown, while the city and government are still battling with barred doors and court proceedings, an appointed official, whose position and authority is not fully established, still has the ability to do tax waivers and sign cheques.
I contend that government is not done in devastating and destroying the sphere of governance within opposition strongholds. And, I notice a trend that indicates where they are heading. Take for instance the Plaisance to Industry local government authority. The chairmanship is in Plaisance, a traditional PNC stronghold. Yet this district is so compromised that two ‘Pradovilles’ were carved out of this area. Businessmen are getting permission to use and own traditional ancestral lands. How can anyone explain the establishment of an internet café on land once designated for burial? How was this area approved for business? Each house lot in Plaisance-Sparendaam has a corresponding plot of agricultural land behind the village. It has come to my attention that given the present trend my family’s land will be up for grabs. As APNU dilly dallies ancestral lands are likely to be carved out and given to businessmen, or better yet, to Chinese deals still in infancy.
Have I made my point? As it is now, there is very little left to govern. Even with LG elections today the newly elected bodies would have no power. Why? The dog has learned the sweet taste of raw eggs.
APNU has said that LGE is needed so that the local authorities can get to look after the people. It is supported by the international community, etc, etc, etc. It is part of our democracy, embedded in our constitution. Well, well, well… It amazes me that the politicians, which comprise APNU, after looking at the governance style of the PPP since the death of Dr Jagan, still think that government sees the constitution as a guideline and the rule of law for governance. Even Mr Burnham with his dictatorial policies stuck within the rules he made and bent to his liking. Yet, there were instances when some of his decisions faced the oversight from the court and he lost. He honoured the court decisions because of the respect he had and felt he must show for the law.
The PPP government does not appear to look at the constitution in the same manner. They approach it as a businessman faced with regulations. Regulations are for consumers, the ordinary people. Businessmen put their attorneys to work on finding ways to bypass, to find loopholes, to find those regulations the authority will experience difficulties enforcing, etc, etc. Then they push the envelope, buy favours and a lot more. They get away with the illegal stuff. Then that creates precedent and the illegal stuff begins to pass as law.
Government was able to get away with this because the opposition cannot wrap their mind around what was happening. They see things by the book and are lost in the strange game. It is like playing cricket and the batsman is stumped. The batsman says, “Stumped? Who sey we playing stumped? Look bowl the ball, yeh.” The bowler is confused. The man is clearly out, but the batsman holds his ground. The bowler bowls the ball. Stumped is not in the game. Then the batsman is caught behind the wicket. A similar dialogue ensues. Caught behind is not out. The game goes on.
There is a lot than can be said about the many failed approaches the leader of the majority opposition has made, conducting the majority opposition. But good leadership means the recognition of an excellent proposal, regardless from where it comes. At this point in time, Guyana does not need politicians fighting for personal positioning and relevance. It is time to step back and do something for the masses, at least this once. The no confidence vote and possible general elections should be the focus. LGE only if it can be combined with the GE.
If one is to consider past utterances from Dr Luncheon, please note that the ‘businessmen’ are already out there testing the strength of the ‘regulations’ on a no confidence vote, to see if they can sidestep or bypass the ‘regulations,’ in the event there is a successful vote. I think we need to take away the ambiguity and move ahead with the vote.
I hope there will be no need to be on the lookout for opposition parliamentarians who may get sick or suffer a heart attack when they need to be in parliament to vote. Do you think emergency crews on standby would be wise?
Yours faithfully,
F Skinner
