Time to address the gaps in our democracy especially the quality of leadership
The ink in my pen has been overflowing on my desk over the past three weeks because I have been resisting the temptation to write on our current political situation. Note, I wrote situation and not fiasco because I do not think that we have a fiasco; rather, I believe that our current situation has presented Guyana, our leadership and the people of Guyana with an excellent opportunity, perhaps the trigger, to do governance and development in Guyana better. It is an opportunity to ensure that we hand over to our children, grandchildren and future generations, a better Guyana.
I was very inspired by Major General (Rtd) Joe Singh’s letter and thus decided to write my own. I did not vote on March 2 because I was not in Guyana; however, if I was voting, I am not sure that I could have voted for either of the two major parties. I am a believer in democracy and the rule of law but I have a difficulty with democracy that focuses on mere systems and not the quality of leadership. There are many positives about the democratic approach to governance, but I believe that the time has come, at least in the Guyana context, for us to address some of the gaps in democracy, especially in terms of the quality of our leadership.
I could not vote for APNU+AFC because I felt that the leadership needed to reflect my values and the values of the people of Guyana. I could not vote for the PPP/C because, in the purest sense of democracy and rule of law, with all due respect, former President Bharrat Jagdeo and Mr Irfaan Ali, based on their track record, in my view, do not represent neither democracy nor rule of law and they neither reflect my values or that of the people of this country. Dr Frank Anthony, yes, certainly! And that is a big mistake that the PPP/C continues to make. Where am I going with this?
Over the past three weeks, I was very conflicted. Almost the entire international, regional and local communities have been chanting that democracy must be upheld, the rule of law in Guyana must be upheld. I do agree that free and fair elections is a key component of democracy and the Constitution of Guyana and must be upheld – the March 2 electoral process must be concluded and a winner must be declared!
However, where I am challenged, is that this discourse on democracy and rule of law is not highlighting a fundamental gap in Guyana – the quality of our leadership. For example, while the Canadian government is championing the cause of democracy and upholding the rule of law, it did not give Mr Ali, the presidential candidate for the PPP/C, a visa to travel to that country. My point again is quality of leadership!
My fight is on two levels: To uphold democracy and the rule of law in Guyana and; the time has come for Guyanese to demand that their leadership reflect their values!
I demand that if the PPP/C should become the next government, that Mr Ali, as the next president, and his government, must reflect the values of the people of this country! I demand that if the APNU+AFC should remain in government, that President David Granger and his government must reflect the values of the people of this country.
During the PPP/C administration, because corruption was rampant in the government, the people of Guyana lived with the label that all Guyanese are corrupt. The APNU+AFC coalition government came into office in 2015, and once again, Guyanese had to live with the label of being corrupt (I am not corrupt, have never been and will never be! I do not have a price and many Guyanese are like me who are neither corrupt nor have a price and we need leaders like us).
It is important to note that while we are called corrupt, largely because of our leaders, yet, someone can go to the Berbice mini-bus park in Georgetown, and give a bus driver money to take to someone in Berbice and be 100 per cent certain that the person on the receiving end will get every cent of the money. We travel in mini-buses and taxis and do not have to count our change because we are almost 100 per cent certain that the mini-bus conductors or taxi drivers will return the correct change. We can go to the stores and markets and purchase something and be 100 per cent certain that the money returned to us will be correct. All these things are evidence of the quality of our society and the corruption is mostly at certain levels of the society; these are the aspects of our society that the world does not see.
On racism, a black person can go before an East Indian judge or magistrate and not have to even think that the judge or magistrate will administer the law based on their race or ethnicity. Likewise an East Indian person goes before a black judge or magistrate and could be guaranteed that decisions will be made on the point of law and not race and ethnicity. A black person could go to the East Indian medical practitioner, as well as an East Indian person could go to a black medical practitioner, and not even have to think that their doctor will treat them differently because of their race or ethnicity. The same with teachers, whether they are black or East Indian. That’s who we are as Guyanese!
In our offices, whether public and private, Christians have their cross by their desk, representing their belief; the Muslims have their symbol and the Hindus have their symbols too, all in the same office.
Our media, private and public, promote Christian, Muslim and Hindu holidays. Many Guyanese are mixed with various ethnicities even though we look black and East Indian. We eat each other’s food and wear each other’s clothing. That’s who we are as Guyanese! I could go on but space would not allow me.
So, as security increases around the embassies and high commissions of the United States of America, United Kingdom and Canada; and as the story of Guyana and Guyanese is told, it is important for the world to know also that Guyanese have always been wonderful hosts and are known for our hospitality to our foreign guests and we will continue to do that. There is even a saying in Guyana that ‘Guyanese are so foreign-minded that we treat foreigners better than our own people’.
As the observers from the OAS, the Commonwealth and more recently, the Carter Center, withdraw from Guyana after the March 2 elections, I rise to the defense of my country. I can no longer stay quiet. Guyana is not an undemocratic country! I say to the international community that democracy must not look like the PPP/C, APNU+AFC and the politics of Guyana but rather, it must look like the people of Guyana! While Guyanese cast their votes on March 2nd, it is important for the world to know that we are not satisfied with the quality of our leadership.
The current Guyana situation has highlighted a fundamental flaw in democracy, and the time has come for the international community to address these limitations. If the world will achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ‘Sustainable Leadership Behaviour’ must become Sustainable Development Goal 18. So, before sanctions are imposed on Guyana, we have a lot of work to do on the quality of leadership in developing countries, starting with Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Audreyanna Thomas
