Governance de facto unity
DEAR EDITOR,
For no reason at all, something made me remember the tensions and trauma of the 2020 elections: the long delays, the nuclear falls of social media, the racist passions stuck in the trenches. And I wonder today, as to the purpose of it all. I say this, because look at where we are, with what amounts to a de facto unity governance structure, praising two of Guyana’s stellar sons, the Hon. Vice President and equally Hon. Leader of the Opposition. It only took three decades and about three years, but today the PPP and PNC are as inseparable as one, and look what it took to fuse them the way they are.
The irony is that it has taken oils – greasy, slick, and serpentine antagonistic in its dreadful scare and shadow – to bring the PPP and PNC together in the classic invisibility of Siamese Twins. The confused political and racist kids, who supported both sides so lovingly, fiercely, and look forward furiously with interest and deep distaste in this new political hybrid, the work of their modern father figures. Sorry, no women at the heights. This hybrid creature is straight out of their nightmares, but there we are, and it is carefully tended, co-operatively, and in a way that speaks so silly of the bloodlines of both political parents. It is of oil-rich attractions that have made grand men from Africa, other Third World countries, and elsewhere slip all the way to Switzerland. And as if to prove we are fast learners, Guyana’s Vice President and Opposition Leader (with timely help from nearby castes) has taken a page, many chapters, from other leaders ‘playbook, to show’ the whole world that they have got game-going oil that is as good as anyone anywhere and at any time, in the sordid history of this very vicious commodity.
As I explore all of this, and reflect on where this leads, I peer into my vocabulary for the most apt description of these two smart, savvy political stewards of Guyana’s wealth. The best I will think, after long and challenging consideration, is that the Vice President and Leader of the Opposition is a true Guyanese; that is, great examples of what is now a settled culture where issues of principle and moral merit are involved. They cannot be betted. If anyone licked his lips in anticipation of the foul and the dirty, I’m sorry to have to disappoint with the boring, the cryptic, and that leaves so much untouched and unanswered. Just to set the bitter partisans and hopes of the oil-driven poor brothers at home, I began by narrating incantations with tributes as bright as being honest and honorable, truthful and ethical, but I was distorted , since I ran out of material and steam, I chalk it up to the nature of the territory. I admit that a continued focus, especially with princely leadership topics (think of literature), has become increasingly revealing; attention span fades. I notice, however, that professionals from the opposition’s public service stronghold are kicked out one by one, and the group leader is as quiet as a supertanker (loaded, of course). And as the billions for COVID-19 cash climbs, it’s just as unmatched. And while the Vice President’s clandestine exploitation continues, the Leader of the Opposition is even quieter. It takes a lot to keep certain men quiet, but there we are, and here we are in the excitement of the true state of one party, involving the unity of PPP leaders and a similar coalition, where the two at the top are one for the one another and both for themselves only. That’s a smooth start to His Excellency’s ‘One Guyana’ program!
And that is what the unity apparatus of governance was summed up – sorry, built – by Guyana’s two most powerful political leaders having come to represent in the rich darkness of its essence, the prosperity of his personal promises. The question is for whom? While others have surrendered country, citizen, and character to oil temptations, I have not done so. And I am very pleased to say that such has not touched the top, which is usually the first to fall prey to the pathological greed that oil releases. Well done, gents! How about some more of this governing control?
Correctly,
Lall GHK