Guyana Observer News

Now is not the time for silly season and cheap politics of opportunism

Friday, 27 August 2010

By Richard Van West-Charles

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The occasion of the visit of the President to Buxton has certainly created significant entropy in the debate surrounding same. I agree with The Leader of the PNCR that the President has a right to visit any community. Hence the visit should not be an issue. Those who invited him should have made it crystal clear what were the expectations of this visit. Yes it is a fact that President Jagdeo has not visited Buxton since 1999 but during that period Buxton has been centre stage in his condemnation and criminalization of the community. Many innocent citizens of Buxton were killed by the state and to date there has not been an investigation. There are many developmental issues affecting Buxton which have not been addressed by the Regional Democratic Council and the National Government. There were many voices that sought to bring some sanity to the situation in Buxton but there were totally ignored. None of these good willed citizens were called to State House even to have some lemonade and have discussions with the President and his advisors to find a workable solution for the developmental problems of Buxton.

And so in August 2010 only at the invitation of a few citizens of Buxton did he begin to engage in some form of action towards the community of Buxton. So for me the issue is not the visit but the façade of seeking to address the problems of Buxton in an unsustainable manner. What we witnessed was a Regional Chairman who is the PNCR’s representative being part of a script to deceive the trust of development and indulge himself in the misallocation of resources and not seeks to identify the real needs for the development of the people of Buxton. I play great emphasis on the role of the Regional Chairman since he should have a more in-depth understanding of the issues which affect the development of the people of Buxton over the years. He should by now have a sense of the neglect, the pain which the community has endured and yet there was not a word.
What is most disturbing is that those who invited President Jagdeo seem to be part of the plot to turn a blind eye to the atrocities which were effected at the hands of the state.
Everyone knows that innocent lives were taken. Are we that heartless not to understand that the community has to heal and part of that process has to be an apology from the State by no other person but The Head of State? The leaders who invited the President must have a sense of the rape which was committed on the community by the state. The Regional Chairman who is also a political operative must have a sense of all the pain and grief which was caused. Is it only when the force of the State is brought on people who have no voice or the requisite social capital to push back that they are encouraged to ask for and accept the crumbs from the table?
I happened to be in the presence of one of the organisers who said “someone has to open the doors”. But that organiser has forgotten how the doors were opened when Shaka Blair; Donna Herod etc. were killed. I ask those organisers to place their actions in context of the actions taken by the State in the years prior and the priority needs for sustainable development of Buxton. Hence the President owes Buxton an apology for the actions of the State and it is not a simple action of saying let’s put the past behind us.
The acceptance of the actions of the misguided organisers and the political opportunism of the President is dangerous and must not be accepted by any community since this action can serve as a template for presidential actions which are inimical to the vision of sustainable development for communities. Our task must be about sustainable development and over the years under which President Jagdeo presided as both Head of State and Head of Government we have witnessed the hand of victimization; withholding of resources and destruction for communities which his administration have deemed PNC communities.
Just up the road from Buxton we can see what was done to Melanie Damishana, Victoria, Bachelor’s Adventure, Golden Grove, and Ann’s Grove in comparison to the investment in the communities of Enterprise, Mon Repos, and Lusignan etc. This does not mean that these latter communities should not have access to resources, but even development and access to resources must be operationalised.
This is why as a member of the PNCR I am so disturbed about the role of the Regional Chairman Mr. Corlette. This august month is an important month when we reflect on the emancipation of our ancestors who were forcibly taken from Africa. But it now seems to be the silly season month for those of the PPP.
When the PPP General Secretary can say that “the ruling administration did more for Buxton than the PNC ever did” I would like to say to Mr. Ramotar that under the PNC the State forces (Police and Army) were never used to commit murder; they were never used to forcibly enter homes and kill the innocent; the PNC never tried to kill the hearts and minds of Buxtonians by seeking to impoverish them and kill their spirit to fight for their rights. The PNC would never have destroyed the farms of Buxtonians. No Mr. Ramotar, the PNC would never have done what your administration did. It would not have aligned itself with the authors of tyranny in any form state or otherwise. Mr. Ramotar complains of frequency with whichthe PNCR visited Buxton. We have a right to represent all citizens of Guyana and as the President has a right to visit any community so do the membership of the PNCR or any social, religious organisation.
Reference was also made by the PPP General Secretary in relation to the reactions to the voices which were critical of the conditions under which the visit of the President occurred.
But Mr. General Secretary the critical voices do not in any way indicate, that there is no interest in promoting inter-ethnic understanding and unity. First what your administration needs to do is to promote inter ethnic equity as a principle. Secondly inter-ethnic understanding and unity is an important principle for the development of this country. However, it is not achieved by a visit of a President who has neglected his citizens for such a long time.
Inter-ethnic understanding and unity is a process not an event and if the PPP administration over the past 18 years were serious about embracing the principle of inter-ethnic understanding the citizens of Guyana would have witnessed attempts to have ethnic balance on the Boards of many government institutions; we would have witnessed a better distribution of contracts; the Ethnic Relations Commission would not have used religion as a proxy for ethnicity etc. There would have been mechanisms/indicators to monitor the progress of interethnic understanding and unity. So let’s get serious about development and I can go on.
Lastly, the participation by the Regional Chairman Mr. Corlette’s could not have been sanctioned by the Leader of my Party and hence his participation both as a member of the Party and as Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council must be questioned. Let us promote and work for sustainable development and ensure that the resources which are voted in the Parliament are allocated efficiently to achieve the effectiveness which can improve the quality of life of our citizens. Now is not the time for silly season and cheap politics of opportunism.
If this is a genuine mistake on the approach to sustainable development then let’s begin a conversation Mr. President.
My last comments are not singularly directed to the PPP administration but to all political and social actors who are interested in working for the development and upliftment of our people.

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