The US Ambassador has played a helpful role in Guyanese society

STABROEK NEWS, JULY 5 ---

In response to your article, ‘Manickchand booed during attack on US ambassador,’ (July 3), I join with my fellow Guyanese at home and abroad in distancing ourselves from the Minister’s unrestrained outburst directed at the outgoing US Ambassador for allegedly meddling in the affairs of Guyana for urging the staging of local government elections.

I don’t know if it is too early to state unequivocally that intemperate remarks are now characteristic of Ms Manichkchand, but back in May 2012, while speaking to educators in Berbice, she reportedly advised teachers calling for a pay rise in Guyana that if they were not satisfied with their salaries then they should leave or ‘eat cake.’ This was from someone who reportedly benefited from PNC-era free education at Queen’s College 1987-1992.

Then earlier this year, during the 2014 Budget presentations, she hurled unwarranted remarks at APNU MP, Jaipaul Sharma, who subsequently resigned to avoid being the target of attacks by the PPP that can bring disrepute to the House.

As for the US Ambassador, it must be noted that from the time he was sworn in on August 19, 2011, he has played a helpful role in Guyanese society with a number of projects, and the PPP regime never cried ‘meddling.’ Ironically, in January 2012, the US Embassy’s Humanitarian Assistance Programme (HAP), in conjunction with the Education Ministry, donated computers to two locations in Lethem. In October 2102, HAP donated medical items to civil society organizations in Corriverton, Region 6.

A check with the US Embassy’s website reveals other areas of assistance given, but who can forget the Ambassador ‘Guyana Shines’ Project launched in 2012 and held every year since aimed at promoting environmental awareness? The man was not meddling in Guyana’s affairs by helping Guyana and Guyanese. Likewise, he is not meddling in Guyana’s affairs by urging the PPP government to adhere to the constitution and stage local government elections.

In fact, we can recall then PPP Leader, Dr Cheddi Jagan, writing the George HW Bush government urging a withholding of US aid to Guyana until the Desmond Hoyte government staged free and fair elections. Bush even sent Hoyte a Republic anniversary message urging him to rejoin the community of democratic nations. Hoyte caved to those external pressures and even allowed former US President, Jimmy Carter, to set up camp in Guyana to monitor the 1992 elections, which the PNC lost to the PPP in 1992.

In short, the PPP benefited at the polls from external ‘meddling’ by the US, but now that the US is urging the PPP to stage local government elections, last held in 1994, the PPP is accusing the US of meddling? Editor, what I want my fellow Guyanese to now understand is that just as some have been recently urging us to distinguish between the Burnham PNC and the Hoyte PNC, we need to also distinguish between the Jagan PPP and the Jagdeo-Ramotar PPP.

This Jagdeo-Ramotar PPP has taken the Jagan PPP and converted it into a vehicle for political entitlement, while engaging in wanton acts of lawlessness and absolute disregard for the rights of Guyanese.

Yes, the Jagdeo-Ramotar PPP was elected by a plurality in 2011 to govern, but more Guyanese voted in the same election for the APNU and AFC, resulting in the creation of an opposition that votes as one on certain parliamentary matters, thus splitting the responsibility of governance between the executive and legislative branches of government.

But given the inherent dictatorial nature of the PPP and the extent of pervasive corruption, the PPP does not like this co-governance arrangement. One can then understand, though not agree, with the PPP’s fear of local government elections, which may be a harbinger of what it can expect in future national elections.

Before closing, I want to commend the US Ambassador for his Herculean role in helping to place local government elections issue on the nation’s front burner via the private media, because without his role, I don’t know how the opposition would have devised a strategy to get this done.

I remain deeply disappointed that the combined opposition continues to fail Guyanese, but especially those who voted APNU and AFC, in contriving a more effective strategy to combat the PPP’s intransigence.

It is okay to claim the combined opposition did well in the last 30 months, including voting down line items in the Budget or refusing to pass the government’s version of AML bill, but there is absolutely nothing that the combined opposition has done that has really stopped the PPP from continuing to do the very things that forced voters to make the PPP a minority regime. It is as though the PPP is more determined to be dictatorial than the combined opposition is determined to stop the PPP.

With the US Ambassador leaving, what will the combined opposition do about pervasive corruption and the lack of local government elections? With China investing heavily in the PPP regime, it is obvious the Chinese are playing a critical role in supporting the PPP’s continued hold on power by virtue of massive cash flows for projects, which is why the combined opposition needs to have a cash flow source that will be enough to strategically defeat the PPP. This PPP-orchestrated lawlessness has to stop or all will be consumed.

 Yours faithfully,

Emile Mervin