It was a question I had to ask and it went like this: “ Mr. Granger, let the healing begin. Are you prepared to take the microphone today and publicly apologize to the Guyanese nation and the diaspora for the role of the PNC in Guyana’s rigged elections? My generation was robbed of the right to exercise the franchise freely and fairly in Guyana. The PNC under Forbes Burnham and Desmond Hoyte rigged five elections. If you are serious about reconciliation take the microphone and apologize and this will go a long way towards the healing process.”
In his response to this question Mr. Granger said that we must investigate all elections and not just those under the PNC. ‘ I know for a fact that the 1992, the 1997, the 2001, 2006 and 2011 elections under the PPP were rigged. When I become President a Granger government would have a Commission of Enquiry into all elections and let the blame fall where they may,” he said. As any schoolboy might wonder since Mr. Granger knows for a fact the elections under the PPP were rigged how is it that he does not know that elections were rigged under the PNC? Mr. Granger will do well to explain also why the PPP would rig the 2011 elections to put itself in Parliament as a minority government.
When I heard that David Granger was coming to Richmond Hill in Queens in New York I thought that it would give him the ideal opportunity to ‘come clean’ with Guyanese and to speak the language of inclusion and participation. But on arriving at the venue one was reminded of Guyana in the microcosm in a number of ways.
There was a picketing demonstration outside of the venue. It called on the PNC and Mr. Granger, among other things, to act responsibly in Guyana and not to oppose for the sake of it. The meeting place was reminiscent of the days of the PNC in Guyana and little attempt made to disguise who really belongs to the PNC. For example, at the head table there were only Afro-Guyanese present and there were no women either. In addition, there were about fifty persons in the room and Afro- Guyanese were around forty in number. Mr. Granger could very well have kept the meeting in Brooklyn and speak to the party faithful there.
The meeting was chaired by Colin Moore who said that he is a friend of the community and a regular at the Phagwah Parade in Queens. After Vishnu Mahadeo welcomed Mr. Granger it was time for the leader of the PNC to speak. Mr. Granger said that he and other Guyanese look forward to the fiftieth anniversary of Guyana’s independence with great expectations. But independence in general came at a price with bloody confrontations and he gave examples from a number of countries. Guyana, he said, is faced with many challenges.
Mr. Granger stated that in July 2011 the Guyanese electorate delivered a majority to the opposition. The situation in Guyana is unique but not obstructionist as it can provide the opportunity for Guyana to move forward. The parties can sit around the table and discuss and address each other’s concerns. Mr. Granger said the he was in New York to advance the cause of the Pro-Guyana Movement that would widen the area of partnership and deepen the zone of partnership politics. He said that we should not go back to the days of 1964 when there was violence in the country.
Mr. Granger said that he is placing great emphasis on the diaspora as it has an important role to play in Guyana’s development. Guyana is a country of two halves, one is in Guyana and the other is the diaspora. Mr. Granger said that he is not afraid to answer any questions about Walter Rodney. His position is that the PNC supported a motion to have an international investigation nine years ago. ‘ Let me make it very clear’, he stated. ‘I never said that I will not participate in the Walter Rodney Commission of Enquiry. I said I will not cooperate. Cooperate means to concur. I did not concur with certain terms of reference. I did not concur because I was Commander of the Guyana Defense Force the day that Rodney died. The terms of reference Number 4 in the Commission of Enquiry asked specifically about those that were on duty the day Rodney died. We feel that the terms of reference was prejudicial. Let us have a Commission of Enquiry and let the Commission follow the evidence but don’t tell them to investigate Granger. Tell them to find out what happened, how Dr. Rodney came in possession of that device, who gave it to him, why it was given to him, and whatever else you want.”
As far as the anti money laundering act is concerned Mr. Granger said that the PPP had this legislation for fourteen years and the law was not enforced. On May 12th 2014, Mr. Granger said that he wrote to a number of officials about this and he is awaiting the outcome. Mr. Granger stated that internally Guyana is two nations. “Once you go west of Fort Island you run out of roads and bridges. The stelling seemed to be a little more rickety and the people are poorer. We have Guyana on the east of the Essequibo developing but on the west is the richest part of the country with no roads. I feel that this uneven development is causing some serious problems. This is where you have the contraband smuggling and the gun-running. This is where you have the goods that generate money laundering and this is where the guns come from as well.”
Mr. Granger said that we have to speak to each other if we are to make Guyana a better place, if we are to widen the areas of cooperation. He wants people at all levels to be involved in the political process. He called on the government to hold local government elections soon to enhance local participation and accountability.
Mr. Granger alluded to problems in the hinterland where he said Amerindians are struggling. ‘ They can be seen using buckets to fetch water at a secondary school to bathe and wash their clothes. When we in the opposition visit these areas we report the facts. We do not go to the National Assembly to obstruct, we communicate on what needs to be done countrywide. We don’t prevent the government from functioning.’
Mr. Colin Moore, the Chairperson then invited questions. Many felt that prior to the meeting that Mr. Moore was politically neutral. But he compromised this position when he said, “ at PPP meetings all they serve is food but we will serve your intellect today with these question and answers.” During the first round of questions this writer asked, ‘why is Mr. Granger criticizing the state of hinterland development when APNU voted to cut allocations from the 2014 budget that were earmarked for the Amerindian communities?’ Another questioner wanted to find out about the state of education and the 7,000 dropouts that occur in the schools each year.
A retired staff sergeant said that Guyana has one of the highest suicide rates in the world at around 25 per thousand and he wanted to know what was being done to stem this rate. Mr. Granger responded by saying that he met with President Donald Ramotar in December 2011 and asked for the setting up of a tripartite budget committee. He laid ‘five fundamentals’ to Mr. Ramotar that included the autonomy of the National assembly, the integrity of the institutions followed by public security, and financial control of the budget. Mr. Granger said that he is aware that there has been controversy over Amalia Falls, the Marriott Hotel, Cheddi Jagan International Airport, the Specialty Hospital and so on but one has to understand how the ‘government spends its money and then you would understand how the opposition behaves a certain way, particularly during the budget.’ (Next week, more questions and analysis).
