The enduring division amongst the two main ethnicities in Guyana engendered by the political system, if not removed, is likely to stymie even the great opportunities that are likely to flow from the discovery of fossil fuels, political party, A New and United Guyana (ANUG) says.
In a statement on the occasion of Guyana’s 53rd independence anniversary celebrated yesterday, the party observed that while some progress has been made, neither the country nor the people are prospering and a solution to the fractious political situation is still being sought.
The statement said that it has been demonstrated over the last seven decades that while Guyana is a multicultural society, its political system has divided the two major ethnicities so that there has been little genuine consensus on important issues. “Furthermore, it is now universally accepted that Guyana’s poor condition and the unending waves of maladministration, crime, domestic violence, corruption, unemployment, etc are largely rooted in this disunity, which, if not removed, is likely to stymie even the great opportunities that are likely to flow from our discovery of fossil fuels,” ANUG warned.
It said that independence, or the freedom to direct one’s own national and global political affairs, is only partially about seeking to enhance material well-being but more importantly, it is also about having a range of additional opportunities to develop self-governing capacities.
“The absurdity of the Guyanese situation is that while we live in a relatively extensive country with great natural and human potential, on this its 53rd Independence Anniversary neither the country nor its people is prospering,” the party observed.
In noting the division over the past decades, it said that Guyana’s independence leaders and all those who struggled for, won and attempted to manage the political independence attained on 26th May 1966, have had to navigate this difficult political context to make their contributions.
“Some conceptual and practical progress has been made, but the larger impression is selfishness, aggrandizement, ethnic myopia and polarization. Thus, although conceptually at some point in our troublesome history all parties have agreed that new governance arrangements are necessary if we are to progress in a timely manner, we are still today in search of a solution to the fractious political situation we have inherited,” the party said.
It observed that regrettably, on Guyana’s 53rd independence’ anniversary, the situation has deteriorated, “for as they go to the polls in the next few months, if it were not for the existence of ANUG, Guyanese would be facing a contest devoid of any real political alternatives to the present archaic political system.”
In calling for a change of the status quo, the statement said that ANUG has been established “to cultivate a consensual form of governance to ensure that the lost El Dorado is finally found.”
