Dear Editor,
I had refrained from writing this letter while President David Granger was under medical review in Cuba, as a demonstration of concern for his well-being. Like every other Guyanese I welcome him back and express best wishes to him for a full and expeditious recovery. Because the nation is informed that he has resumed work I think the time is now more appropriate to do so.
Results for the recently concluded Local Government Elections have demonstrated the individual and collective weaknesses of the coalition parties and the strength of the opposition PPP/C. This awareness has led to a renewed sense of urgency in the ranks of coalition members and supporters to put the APNU+AFC back on a winning course.
I have been approached on a daily basis, directly, or by phone calls and emails requesting that I do what I can to help alleviate a possible defeat of the APNU+AFC coalition in the 2020 General and Regional Elections. My response to this has been as follows: What you are asking me to do I was doing from the first day the coalition came to office and I continue to do so. I point out that it is impossible to influence government policy when you are only apprised of those policies and decisions primarily through the instrumentality of the media. I mentioned my writings in the letter columns of the newspapers and the collective advocacy of WPA political commentators on the Walter Rodney Groundings, including Dr. David Hinds, who has unsuccessfully been offering advice to the coalition on the need to develop more realistic economic and social programmes to keep its constituents engaged, energized. Improve PR and foster more democracy in decision making in the APNU, coalition, and government.
I have set out here in some measure of detail my efforts to prevent the situation and to inform supporters of the government and the populace at large of my state of “powerlessness”, and to assure them that, in spite of this fact, I remain committed to doing whatever I can to assist in re-energizing the coalition’s support base. I am also using this opportunity to warn that if the APNU+AFC coalition is to achieve its goal of retaining the government at the 2020 general and regional elections it can only do so through the collective efforts of all of the parties in the coalition. It has to be a collective effort. Those in the coalition who seek to sideline those they refer to as insignificant and are of no consequence had better beware and learn from their poor political judgment.
If truth be told it is my strongly held view that for the APNU+AFC to avoid defeat at the 2020 elections the coalition leadership needs to make a 180-degree turn in thinking and actions and not the 360 degrees as I had mentioned in a previous letter. On this matter, I acknowledge brother Ali Majeed’s contribution in pointing out to me the flaw in my previous recommendation, when he noted that if the coalition engages in a 360-degree turn it would end back at the same point it started from. To achieve the radical shift that the situation requires those responsible for the present state of affairs will have to acknowledge that responsibility and commit to bringing about the desired change. In other words, it can no longer be a situation where the views of some members of the APNU in the coalition are ignored to the point that makes their participation pointless – as in the case of the WPA where our views most often count for nothing within the coalition.
It is in this context that I believe Comrade Granger’s leadership will face its sternest test. He has to be objective in his assessment of why things have not gone as planned and what his role in reversing the situation must be. He must understand the dynamics at work, his role as president and leader of the APNU and the coalition: and his Party role, and the extent to which it has affected the functioning of both the APNU and the coalition government. Unless this is effectively done by him and the results communicated to all, there is very little chance that the required new direction, which is so necessary for success at the 2020 elections, would materialize. Given our political culture, once the “leader” is in denial and plays the “blame game” political opportunism and paralysis will be the order of the day. In other words, the change in this political environment will be almost impossible to achieve.
To support my contention why president Granger’s action is vital to a successful new direction for the APNU and the coalition, I point to two issues that in my opinion are important and submit that their correction falls exclusively in the president’s domain:-
The first is the future role of the cabinet. Will this body continue to be the policy-making and executing arms of the government? The second is in relation to the absence of cohesion among coalition parties and more particularly in the APNU, as reflected by the growing alienation of the WPA in the APNU. In my considered view, these matters as they stand, are driven by the President, and sections of the PNC leadership. Who after coming to office in 2015 under the electoral brand of the APNU, have, for shortsighted partisan purposes, been seeking to restore the PNC as the electoral franchise in the near future. In pursuit of this goal, they are zealously promoting counterproductive policies of neutralizing their allies. I am sure that after reading this those persons in the PNC who want to wish away the presence not only of the WPA but the other small parties in the APNU will scoff at this observation. However, they will be doing so at their own peril.
As I said above these are just two issues, which can only be effectively addressed by the president. There are many other matters that are equally or more important to the APNU+AFC winning the 2020 elections that have not been addressed here. They are economic and governance issues that do not rest solely with the president and are much more difficult to deal with by any government.
I am committed to addressing those matters in some detail in another letter. Comrades should rest assured that, notwithstanding the difficulties, I will do what I can to assist the coalition forces to achieve the victory in 2020. Hopefully, those persons who desire to lock some of us out of the process will come around to understanding the importance of the collective effort and do their part to ensure the victory.
Yours faithfully,
Tacuma Ogunseye
