The Mass Action People’s Movement (MAPM), which last week began lobbying for President David Granger to announce a date for elections and the resignation of his Cabinet, is hoping that with sustained effort it will be able to function as a civil society watchdog for years to come.
“We are still loosely based and very informal in our structure but we plan to function as a watchdog,” steering committee member Don Singh told Stabroek News.
The group was formerly known as the Movement Against Parking Meters, which waged a successful campaign against the then Georgetown City Council’s move to implement a city parking meter project under controversial terms with a foreign contractor.
The campaign against the parking meter contract periodically saw hundreds converge on City Hall to show their displeasure with the highly controversial and now dormant project. The numbers were significantly less last Thursday, when the renamed group staged a protest outside of the Ministry of the Presidency.
“That’s okay,” Singh told Stabroek News of the numbers, while reminding that the metered parking protest started with just four guys at Parade Ground.
He explained that the “Movement” has stayed alive in the WhatsApp groups where it was born and it was only a week ago that it was decided that enough consensus existed for a protest.
“We’ve had several WhatsApp groups where we discuss several issues and the no-confidence motion came up and we’ve discussed it over and over and kept waiting for civil society to wake up and defend the constitution and then we decided to do it. The steering committee collated the various opinions and we took action,” he said.
The protest action follows the government’s response to the passage of the no-confidence motion against the government in the National Assembly on December 21st, 2018. The passage of the motion required the holding of elections by March 21st, 2019, unless two-thirds of the members of the National Assembly granted an extension.
The constitution also stipulates the resignation of Cabinet with the passage of the motion. Government, which initially accepted the passage of the motion, later challenged its validity. The Caribbean Court of Justice has since upheld the validity of the motion.
Unlike the previous protest against the parking meter contract, the pushback to the Movement’s new campaign has been severe, with members and the group facing constant attacks.
“Some fools just like protesting,” one commentator noted on the group’s Facebook page, while another declared, “So this was always a political outfit waiting in the dark as an arm of the octopus, beware people.”
Others were more colourful in their opinion but Singh is not worried about this either. “In Guyana, we like to put people in political boxes. I guess if government changes in 2020 or 2025 and we continue to be active, they will see differently but for now we can’t be deterred. We know what we are doing is right. We have researched the facts and sought advice, so we will continue every Thursday at 12 pm until an election date is set,” he maintained.
Asked how the group will grow and develop beyond placards and protests, Singh said he is not sure about whether it will register under the Friendly Society Act but he knows the group, which is part of the Civil Society Forum, will continue to work with persons who are genuinely civic-minded.
“Beyond the placards, we want to be a watchdog so that when we see any issue which is straying away from the benefit of Guyanese and Guyana, we will stand and say, ‘No, wait, stop.’ And hopefully we have enough impetus or weight to be listened to. Don’t know if we’ll ever get there but it is the hope,” he explained.
He lamented that the country appears to be “heading into the abyss because no one knows what’s next.” “We’ve asked. We’ve asked the lawyers and the politicians and other experts but no one knows what’s next,” he said.
