CHAOTIC LEADERSHIP
Thanks to the leadership of the PPP for abandoning their ex-president, ex-Prime Minister and their Prime Ministerial candidate and resurrecting a former president to be the leader of the party. This will now help the people to understand the missteps, lawlessness and inept policies implemented by the former administration over the past fifteen years. The newly crowned leader of the PPP had the most chaotic and corrupt tenure as President. Greed, incompetence and self-indulgence were the trademarks of his Government. His was a rule that created chaos, broke the rule of law and disrespected the people and the constitution for over a decade. Perhaps he read the book that says in order to have chaos, you must first break all the rules. This suggests that the mismanagement of the state of affairs of the country was in fact a deliberate strategy of his governance policy to create chaos. Chaos Theory asserts that any minute change in the condition of a socio-economic system would in time dramatically affect the larger whole. Weighing in on its complexity, there is an inference somewhere which suggests that if, possibly, anyone could understand all of a society’s complex variables, that person could predict eventual social outcomes. Although this is not a reference to Jagdeo’s poor leadership, yet it recognizes that his lack of understanding of the fundamental norms and values of society and his dismal performance as President distinguishes him as a chaotic and failed leader. Management theorist Phillip B. Crosby identifies five types of leaders: the Preparer, Accomplisher, Caretaker, Procrastinator and the Destructor. Mr. Jagdeo’s dogmatic behavior as president clearly places him in the last category. The leadership style of the Destructor is completely self-centered and selfish, because such persons are never empathetic or is concerned with the plight of others. They see the world narrowly from their own lens. As leaders, they hold little regard for others, and easily take advantage of the persons who they have control over at work or on a personal basis. So how a chaotic person could somehow be allowed to ascend to become the leader of the opposition. This is nothing more than a slump in leadership in the former administration. But beyond this, Guyana will be better off without him being in Parliament where chaos could result in a further breakdown of the political system, and the further distrust for politicians by the people. Fifteen years of poor policy and chaos by the last government are enough. In those years, the nation succumbed to despondency and despair and an unceasing eruption of corruption and scandals that have affected almost every institution in the country to the point where they have been irredeemably compromised. But in the midst of the darkness that threatens to intern the people, came a glimmer of light for the nation with the election APNU+AFC Coalition on May 11, 2015. That glimmer of light has shone so bright over the darkness that the people have rejoiced in it. They have elected the APNU+AFC Coalition to unite the races, develop the economy, create jobs, improve the infrastructure, reduce poverty and move the country towards good governance. For too long the wishes, opinions and interests of the citizens were ignored and treated with utter disdain by the former Government. They were not meaningfully involved in the decision-making process. So the judgment handed down to the PPP on May 11 was a complete victory for the people and a call to action across the country to put an end to autocratic rule. The newly elected APNU+AFC Coalition Government has embarked on a genuine consultation process with the people with the understanding that their wishes, opinions and interests be taken into account in the decision-making process in a transparent manner, which is the hall mark of good governance which was not practised before.
