Dear Editor,
Please permit me space within your Editorial columns to air my concerns surrounding the recent racially divisive speech of Mayor Ubraj Narine.
The Mayor along with the APNU has, for a long time, hindered the growth of Georgetown through incompetent leadership and mismanagement of our urban space. In the Mayor’s recent trip for scoring cheap political points, he has incited racial division across the media houses and has caused some degree of public unrest.
Mr. Narine along with Mr. Norton, the leader of the APNU, has shown their natural ability of politicizing every issue and playing the race card as their first line of defence. They displayed their lack of knowledge of the legislation and showcased their mentality of exploiting Guyanese for their own vile political agendas and apparently at all cost.
“At all cost” being the obstruction of traffic for a neonate needing Intensive Care Unit services, a mother in labour, an individual involved in an motor vehicle accident and losing blood fast, a child with a sickle cell crisis or asthmatic crisis or anyone seeking medical assistance. I recall these vendors on the New Market Street since medical school days and I recall that a portion of time when the APNU held power, that very strip of New Market St. was cleared of vendors and “Taxi Only” signs were erected up to a point. However, during September of the COVID pandemic I noticed a few stalls popping up back along the stretch of roadway and then caravans and other stalls opened up, putting the taxi zone out and leaving a narrow space for motor vehicles to pass.
Mayor Narine would have not have done his job over the two years and his recent actions support the theory that this was with the pure intention of gaining political points. As for the game plan, same as usual, to creating unrest by putting racism and division into desperate people’s minds and to give people false hope at the cost of peace and unity. This shows the gross exploitation of people who are vulnerable and with limited understanding of the laws and its procedures.
Then the APNU’s Leader Mr. Norton attempts to cover his racial remarks by comparing two scenarios which are completely different but have one common factor: all ethnicities were involved in both instances. Mr. Norton should be ashamed to even mention the brutalization and vandalization which took place at Mon Repos since it was his very derogatory and racially divisive remarks and non-expert opinion on the outcomes of a case which fuelled people to behave the way they did. Arrests were made and examples were made of those and same goes for this instance where the law was upheld and procedures were followed as prescribed. The Police Force must be at a relief to be working in their own space and on their own orders and not the orders of power drunk APNU+AFC high office holders as highlighted in the Commission of Inquiry on the 2020 General and Regional Elections rigging attempts.
Noteworthy is the fact that Mayor Narine was arrested for “inciting racial division” and nothing about his religious blasphemy was pronounced upon. So I am of the opinion that Mayor Narine should stop taking pictures with denominations and talking about religion but instead face the City he tries effortlessly to divide and the people he leads astray and apologize to them. Enough damage has been dealt out to our once beautiful City which the APNU has controlled for years.
And, the leader of the opposition continuing to call the private sector “stooges” is laughable because this further shows their pea brain mentality from the “top brass” and him not recognizing the valued role of the free market economy.
As a young citizen of Municipality Five Georgetown, I am doubling the calls for the Mayor to resign with immediate effect after the court has made their decision on his case. I reiterate the call for more independent candidates and for candidates who are on the ground daily and in the trenches with the people, our people and following up daily.
Georgetown needs stern leadership and leadership with the capacity to have compassion in correcting and setting people on the right path. The true potential of Regent Street can be seen once these political quacks bare removed through the democratic voting at Local Government Elections, 2023. I urge the Georgetown vendors to assist Guyana and do what is right by her. Hand wash hand makes hands clean.
Yours respectfully,
Dr. Josh Kanhai,
Independent Candidate,
Municipality Five
Georgetown
