Future Notes

The prime ministerial candidate of the PPP/C for the 2020 elections, Brigadier Mark Phillips (ret.)

A few columns ago I set myself the task of combining historical facts with personal reflections to support a hypothesis that a ‘significant shift has taken place in the global political system that threatens the PNC’s take no prisoners approach to acquiring and holding on to political power!’

Three weeks ago I set myself the task of combining some historical facts with a few personal reflections to make an important point in support of my hypothesis that a ‘significant shift has taken place in the global political system that threatens the PNC’s take no prisoners approach to acquiring and holding on to political power!’

Small and insignificant as Guyana is and will continue to be for some time as the robber barons are left largely unmanaged to do as they please, its politics has been a fantastic tapestry of intrigue.

In a letter last Saturday, Dr. Vishnu Bisram argued more or less successfully for the formation of alliances by small political parties and for the Guyana Elections Commission to give them as much space as possible to achieve this goal (SN:18/01/2020).

One of the most important elements of a properly functioning democratic state is regular personnel turnover, so when a political leader tells you, as Mr.

During one of his parliamentary budget presentations, then minister responsible for local government, Harripersaud Nokta, gave a list of what the PPP/C intended to accomplish in the sector over the coming year.

Guyana has been in the sugar industry for centuries and has exported high and low level managers and technicians to many countries around the world, yet in a letter last week, Mr.

In this most charitable of seasons I am returning to my contemplation of global inequality and the poor.

It is now well recognised that much of what we will become in adult life is determined by our experiences by ages 5 or 6, and last week, in discussing the effects of inequality and poverty, I suggested that this time span should be extended backwards to include what occurred in the womb.

Yesterday was the United Nations Human Rights Day and the implications of increasing global income and wealth inequality are so destructive of those rights that as we approach the 2020 elections, all political parties should make some statement on this matter as it relates to Guyana.

Last week Thursday (28/11/2019), the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) gave a preview of its strategic development plan for Guyana.

Stabroek News’s ‘Prison-break carnage’ (SN:18/11/2019) presents us with broad facts that occurred during a specific period, namely February 2002 to September 2006, but facts are mainly useful if they can help us to find explanations that prevent the recurrence of unwanted events and/or facilitate the creation of the things we desire.

When Evo Morales became the first indigenous president in Latin America in 2005, I applauded his victory, but by the time he resigned on 10 November amid widespread protests, he had lost all my respect.

In 2008 95% of African Americans voted for Barack Obama to become president of the United States of America and most Guyanese saw nothing wrong with that, so why are we making so much fuss when 95% of Africans and Indians vote for the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) respectively?

Ever since the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) decided that it intended to remove over 25,000 persons who have not collected their national identification cards since 2008 from the list of electors, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has been up in arms, claiming that such an action would be illegal.

Every so often one needs to abandon the hackneyed discourses that surround everyday politics and contemplate lasting solutions to tectonic issues. 

There is a belief in some quarters that the present universal basic income (UBI) debate is being motivated by the wish to gain political popularity and win votes at the 2020 elections and such is the nature of democratic politics.

In last week’s Future Notes I quoted President David Granger as saying, ‘Now my brothers and sisters, we are in government again. 

At a pre-election campaign rally in Linden last Saturday, President David Granger is reported to have said: ‘Now my brothers and sisters, we are in government again.