President Granger behaves as if he owns Guyana
There are things about your country that as a mature citizen you have to know, you must know, and if you don’t, you are essentially lost and you need psychological treatment.
Let’s look at two simple facts that almost all Guyanese know. If at Enmore, the East Coast road is blocked for any reason, there will be utter chaos and pathetic sadness. Residents of the East Coast and Regions 5 and 6, cannot get to the major hospitals, the airports, the embassies, the commercial banks, all of which are in Georgetown.
The second simple fact is if Peter’s Hall is blocked for any reason, the folks who live up the East Bank are cut off from Georgetown. Georgetown is a small city in comparison with a majority of capitals in the world. The majority of essential movements of life in Guyana are located in Georgetown. A huge pile-up of vehicles that holds up traffic for hours at Avenue of the Republic and Regent Street will cause nightmarish confusion.
From the time the APNU+AFC government came into power, there was an arrogance and insensitivity that may have exceeded what obtained under presidents Jagdeo and Ramotar. From 2015, each time Parliament met, this arrogance and insensitivity to which you can add asininity, was on display.
Large sections of the Stabroek districts were blocked off by the fools that govern us, creating horrific traffic jams that resulted in terrible suffering to drivers and commuters. From 2015 until the parliament lived through its tenure, this nightmare existed. And a nation of sheep allowed this sadistic treatment to go on.
We are now in the midst of another form of sadistic mistreatment of the Guyanese nation, and a nation of sheep suffers in humiliation. Go to major shopping complex in this country and see the expensive vehicles and the designer clothes, and the owners are happy to be treated as sheep.
I am referring to the attitude of President Granger. I make no apologies for saying Granger’s deportment smacks of monarchial tendencies. I find Granger to be the most arrogant president since Independence – from Burnham to Hoyte to Cheddi and Janet Jagan to Sam Hinds, Jagdeo and Ramotar.
I further make no apologies for saying that I see no heroic contribution from David Granger that would make him think that he has space in Guyana for harbouring monarchial inclinations. Granger is far removed from any comparison with Critchlow, Burnham, Jagan, Walter Rodney. Why then this king-like behaviour?
Countless Guyanese have complained to me that Granger is over-overbearing and cruel when he and his entourage are travelling around Guyana. People told me large sections of Georgetown and entire villages are cordoned off during his visits. Please see my column of Thursday, October 10, 2019, captioned “Kamarang visit: Jagan compared with Granger.” I described what happened in Kamarang during Granger’s visit. These are unacceptable things that a nation should not condone from its president.
Employees at the airport told me that when Granger’s plane lands and takes off, it is as if the area is under emergency lockdown. An airport official told me his memory goes back to the days of Burnham, and no president behaved like this. On Thursday, I saw Granger’s monarchial habits in full flow. I left the National Park with my dog to get a type of cat milk that only one place in Guyana sells –Mattai’s Supermarket on Water Street.
What I encountered angered me. I would urge people to speak up. Imagine if this man has five more years in power. Granger hosted the annual police officers’ conference at his official residence. Large parts of the following streets were blocked off – Quamina, Middle, New Market, Carmichael, Waterloo and Main.
I had to go back to Camp Street, take the seawall road, and turn into Water Street by Marriott Hotel in order to reach Mattai’s. The places affected were Woodlands Hospital, Bishops’ High School and the restaurant patronised by the diplomatic community, Oasis Café.
Optometrist David Singh described for me what happened last Sunday. His son’s vehicle caught fire during his drive in one of the races at the circuit. While the ambulance was coming down the East Bank Highway, Mr. Granger was returning to Georgetown. The outriders refused to let the ambulance pass.
On Friday morning, I met the injured young man with his wife in the National Park. He said they just would not let the ambulance through. His wife was angry when she spoke to me. She said when they posted on Facebook up what the outriders did, she received several responses from people describing similar situations with Granger’s entourage.
I don’t want the PPP back, but Mr. Granger is not the right choice for president.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)