Dear Editor,
Over the past week, there has been an eruption of views regarding the Parliamentary No-confidence Motion and with it, the ugly face of tribalism, racism and disunity.
Debates pertaining to the welfare of the country are extremely important for citizens to partake in but the obvious problem we seem to be having is that we are not of the emotional or intellectual maturity to dissect these matters, responsibly. We are not ‘issues-based’ enough and the moment someone attempts to bring an objective view into the discussion, our instinct is to associate or label that view or person as belonging to ‘a particular tribe or political group’ at the expense of the bigger issues to be addressed.
This particular situation is the result of decades of damage done by party politics which have mentally groomed us to be blind. It works quietly and subconsciously to ‘divide’ which facilitates a successful distraction from calls for public accountability and proper conduct of our public officials in the face of political uncertainty.
This is something we need to work on developing in ourselves as citizens. We need to recognise in ourselves, our inability to view ‘an issue as an issue’ and rise above the influence of party politics whether PPP, APNU+AFC or any other political party. This approach is urgently needed to achieve an innovative Guyana that works in the interest of its people, as opposed to a traditional Guyana that works in the interest of its politicians.
Yours faithfully,
Sharon Lalljee-Richard
Heal Guyana Founder
