By Ryhaan Shah

Four months into the new Administration, Guyana is reeling from the shock and dismay of President David Granger’s arrogance  and his contempt for the rule of law. The coalition’s promised  change is here and it is definitely a change for the worse. The issue for the country now is what can be salvaged from a bad situation. The super-sized salaries that Government awarded itself drew outrage and condemnation from several quarters including Stabroek News (SN), Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) President Lincoln Lewis, Red Thread, and political activist Dr David Hinds, all of whom were fully supportive of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition winning office. That Government will not get unconditional, sycophantic support for its every move does give hope. While it has censured Government on a number of issues, SN compromises its integrity by failing to act with regard to its columnist Anand Goolsarran who is an active participant in the Administration’s conflict of interest corruption. If the SN wants to have a lead role in the critical days ahead, it must adhere to the ethical principles needed to play that part. The Guyana Bar Association also stepped in with criticism over the secrecy of Granger’s pardon of 40 young offenders and referenced the legal requirements that were overlooked. The President, however, is defiant and vows to pardon even more offenders next year. His joke about young men graduating from Camp Street School and Mazaruni University is wearing thin and is in extremely poor taste in a country where crime is out of control. Anyone who breaks the law must face the consequences as established by our legal system, and the President’s  message that robbery is a pardonable offence for our youths is a serious infringement of the moral conduct expected from a Head of State. According to Hindu dharma, thievery is not only a matter of taking another’s property but includes the concept of someone taking more than their fair share or more than they need as, for instance, Government Ministers giving themselves huge pay hikes while public servants must make do, while rice farmers face financial ruin, and while sugar and bauxite workers are facing hard times. The economy is stagnant partly because every project approved by the previous Administration has been quashed and there was no seamless transition that would have assured continued economic activity and jobs. Instead, the discriminatory firing of public servants, many without due process, added to the jobless count. Government’s many Commission of Inquiries and audits give the appearance of busy work but earn no revenues. The only project the public hears about is the grand jubilee celebrations that will be held for independence next May. This will cost millions and Government’s jubilation over its jubilee is out of step with a country where many are worried about the economy and growing unemployment. But Government seems unperturbed so they could well be planning to keep the country afloat on credit from expected oil revenues. They are certainly giving every attention to the burgeoning oil industry while ignoring established ones like rice. From the time Granger took office, he disregarded the processes of consultation and transparency that were promised by the coalition. He unilaterally renamed buildings and Ministries and continues to flout the Cummingsburg Accord, especially as regards to the powers that were to be assigned to the Prime Minister. The dÉjà vu of the 1960s cannot be helped. In the run up to the General and Regional Election in May, it was clear that the ABC countries wanted the PPP Government gone whether because of their alleged corruption or their unwillingness to be controlled by foreign interests.

All the players are back on the board. In the 1960s, the US and Britain meddled in our internal affairs because of the Cold War. This time around, the oil find off our coast could be the main attraction.

The new US Ambassador Perry Holloway comes with impressive credentials. He is no third tier diplomat, the kind that usually gets posted to “backwater” countries like ours. It is clear that Guyana is once again of strategic importance to the US and we should pay close attention  to their presidential race. America’s choice could well determine our future in large measure. The big question is whether the US will care at all whether Guyana is destroyed again by its chosen political partners as it looks after its own interests. Every one of us must be concerned about the answer to that question. It is we who must stand defiant against the possibility that Guyana will be badly used again by politicians who care little for our country and its people.