PPPC is under pressure of an epidemic of public protests

The People’s Progressive Party is beset by a plethora of problems and a loss of public confidence. It has run out of solutions after nearly 22 continuous years in office. The unbroken stretch of five, consecutive one-party PPPC (People’s Progressive Party Civic) administrations – of Cheddi Jagan; Samuel Hinds; Janet Jagan; Bharrat Jagdeo and, now, Donald Ramotar – is crashing to a close in a flurry of complaints and public protests. President Donald Ramotar’s misfortune was to be thrust into office in the wake of the wild Bharrat Jagdeo presidency. Jagdeo, during his 12-year romp, persistently failed to address the basic needs of the masses, of workers, of youths and of civil society. The results are everywhere to be seen. Crime is rampant; poverty is pervasive; the trade unions are restless and the regime’s mega-projects are all under a cloud. Ramotar is powerless to repair the damage caused by the rampage of the shadowy oligarchy – persons who have been allowed to pursue their personal interests at the expense of the public good. The PPPC administration today finds itself plagued by an epidemic of public protests. Ramotar’s election in December 2011 came face-to-face with an Opposition-controlled National Assembly. Opposition scrutiny exposed the administration’s incompetence and corruption which had been concealed by the PPPC’s parliamentary majority before. The PPP, since 1992, had been able to erect a structure of state authoritarianism by debilitating important institutions. It tried to subordinate the Legislative branch to the Executive branch of government. It undermined the independence and impartiality of the Public Service, the Security Services, and the constitutional commissions which had been established to safeguard the integrity of those very institutions. It obstructed the installation of important constitutional organs which were created to provide protection to the public from executive lawlessness. The Tenth Parliament has been the PPP’s worst nightmare. The people have been encouraged by the opposition’s parliamentary example. The frequency, intensity and variety of public protests indicate that there is simmering and sustained dissatisfaction with the performance of the PPPC administration. Amerindian land problems remain unsettled. Protestors from four regions – the Barima-Waini; Pomeroon-Supenaam; Cuyuni-Mazaruni and Rupununi – came to protest in front of the National Assembly in August last year to express their concern about land issues. Scores of protesters had picketed the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs earlier, in January, over complaints by the Isseneru Village council. Protesters complained that the PPPC administration was not taking the complaints of the Amerindian people seriously. In the agriculture sector, especially sugar and rice – both of which are largely state-controlled, problems persist. President Donald Ramotar and his two Ministers of Agriculture – Leslie Ramsammy and Alli Baksh – had to dash to the Essequibo Coast on 13th July following a scathing press conference by A Partnership for National Unity on the plight of paddy farmers. Hundreds of paddy farmers had protested on the roadway for the fifth time this year to call attention to their grievances. Governance is neuralgic. Scores of public servants were obliged to protest against the unilateral imposition of an inadequate pay increase outside the Office of the President in December 2013. The same month, scores of protesters from civil society – including members of Transparency International Guyana Inc. (TIGI), Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and Red Thread Women’s Organisation – took to the streets in a protest against public corruption and to mark “International Anti-Corruption Day”. In April this year, members of the Guyana Women Miners’ Organisation (GWMO); Red Thread Women’s Organisation; the Caribbean American Domestic Violence Awareness and Women Across Differences groups protested in front of the National Assembly to call attention to the plight of victims of abuse and human trafficking. Public infrastructure is gradually being reduced to a shambles. Residents of Bartica, Ituni, Mahdia, Sophia, East Bank Berbice and Port Kaituma have all had to protest at various times to call for better roads. Public education is still plagued by serious infrastructural and personnel problems. Scores of parents, students and teachers have had to protest against appalling conditions at schools – including filthy pit latrines, leaking roofs and frequent flooding. Student-teachers at the Cyril Potter College of Education protested against poor quality meals and deplorable conditions at the College in December 2013. Public security continues to deteriorate. The PPPC administration seems incapable of reducing armed robberies, murders, piracy attacks and drug trafficking. Several citizens and human rights organisations protested outside of the National Assembly to condemn police brutality in January 2013. These public protests are becoming the only means of attracting the PPPC administration’s attention to public problems. Protests also suggest that the PPPC will continue to ignore complaints from local communities until public embarrassment forces it to act.