Essential ingredients of PPP governance
DEAR EDITOR,
I trust that Guyanese are sitting up straight and taking note of what has been happening in the last three calendar quarters. There are two developments that, in their resurrection, should emphasize what was typical of previous PPP governments, and which have now returned with a vengeance. I believe they harbor more of the same to come, who should warn first, and then get very upset next.
The first development includes those large and now infrequent cases of transporting cocaine intercepted abroad. The fact that they are abducted abroad should give an idea of how tight this country is where that kind of rich powder business (and legalization of money laundering) is at stake. It also re-emphasizes how this business is bouncing back so quickly and so strongly, since the PPP government came into office. It is a testament to what it has always been governed to be, with this time even worse than before; a lot of time is lost to heal. This is just the beginning.
Secondly, I was greeted on Monday morning with media reports of that hail of bullets on Main Street, which had all the components of an organized execution. I think this, too, is an early sign of a return to the good old days of Masterpieces Drugs and a few ‘bad apples’ for cops and sharing information with crime fighters and freedom fighters. We used to call them phantoms back then; I suggest the pillars of democracy today. Whatever it is, the dark funders are back, and every day is an inaugural celebration for them. In light of the result of governance, they are now well placed and properly prepared for unchecked leverage.
Now, I have no choice but to place this square where it belongs: an integral aspect of the risky governance culture fostered by the PPP. Its leaders and people may try, but they cannot duck responsibility for what yet manifests its ugly head in this society. Most party people are positions of power; whether or not they are fake, because they know what’s going on, who’s involved, and maybe they are involved themselves. After all, attracting sweet cash and fast cash has always been irresistible in the past. This probably has to be accepted as part of the environments and foundations of democracy, the excuses for clean governance, and the strange strain of Guyanese capitalist entrepreneurship that has run away. As I present it all, I can’t help but wonder what my dear American and British and Canadian comrades think, how they intend to react; or, if they do anything at all, because the PPP has a virtual carte blanket to run rackets. The PPP also has the auxiliary machinery to deviate well for law and order, the rule of law, and none is above the law. That is, except for his own people, especially the people’s money, and the muscular people.
Correctly,
Lall GHK