We have asked Mr Khemraj Ramjattan and Raphael Trotman, executive members of the PPP and PNC to do monthly columns for our newspaper on topics of their choice. The first columns were due this week and Mr Trotman's column appears. Mr Ramjattan was unable to complete this on time because of other commitments and his column will appear next Saturday.
As the year 2002 draws to a close, we the people have had mixed fortunes.
Philosophically speaking, we have to be very grateful for our lives, given that death has become such a macabre part of our existence. The only business prospering at the year's end is the funeral home with its assortment of deals and packages to ensure that our loved ones are given a dignified farewell. On the other hand, this year has been from a governance point of view, a disaster.
It is obvious that we are in a deepening crisis characterized by fear, flight and fatigue. Fear of being the next victim of crime or destitution, flight from our shores in droves, and fatigue from having to fight to stay alive. Many commentators have been quoting the saying that who the gods want to destroy they first make mad. In my estimation each and every one of us must have offended these gods because we are all in some way or the other being destroyed. The recent deaths of two children at the South Dakota circuit for example, were particularly poignant as it caused one to believe that we are a cursed nation needing to place our salvation in a divine deliverer.
Economically, the country's prospects have not improved despite the best efforts of spin-doctors to paint a rosier picture. It is being pointed out by some PPP/C party officials that Guyana's investment rating has risen sharply but yet, the question as to why the investors are still not arriving remains unanswered. It used to be said that investors ran at the sound of the name of the PNC/R but if truth be told, our rating as a very good investment friendly country would not have skyrocketed if the myth about the PNC/R was true. Simply put, the management of the economy has been disastrous.
Politically, we are perhaps worse off than we have ever been before. Those fortunate to have survived the terrible sixties say that the situation we face today is grossly worse than anything they experienced previously. Our parliamentary system continues to limp along with little sign of a speedy turn around. Controversial Bills are introduced into the House where individual ministers carve out more power for themselves, and the Opposition parties are expected to show a good fight and then move on. This is a system that perhaps works elsewhere but which obviously is driving our country into the depths of ruin. When the PNC/R returns to Parliament its role has to be more meaningful than that of rubber stamp. A return to normalcy including an eventual lifting of the Parliamentary boycott by my party, must be predicated on a basis of trust and mutual respect, and has to start with some simple but significant steps. We have to restart the process by implementing all decisions reached years ago through the St Lucia Statement, the Constitution Reform process, and post 2001 elections dialogue. We have to respect each other's relative strengths and value, and we have to give each other sufficient space within which to function.
At the level of crime and law enforcement, claims of a refurbished Police Force are welcome but the nation's psyche has been severely damaged by the relentless onslaught of the criminals and even by some of the antics of a few misguided members of the Police Force. There continue to be too many reports of police involvement in criminal activity and even of criminals influencing the directorate of the force. Regrettably, it has to be said that the establishment of an air wing, or the setting up of a SWAT team by themselves will not stem the tide. The drivers and accelerators of crime first have to be discovered and carefully examined and then and only then will we be able to prevent the decline of the state. Recent statements by leading government officials have only served to obscure the issue as we have been taken on an excursion ranging from political terrorism to deportees and now to gang warfare. How can we make a start if the powers that be remain unable to identify the type of beast that is bearing down on us? For the time being however the Police Force has to be supported in its work.
It is safe to say that we are in a national crisis as every important facet of our life and existence is threatened but particularly that of governance. Every effort to right the listing ship has proved futile and we are faced with the inevitable conclusion that in the context of Guyana, a government alone cannot manage the affairs of all of the people all of the time. The growing cry for shared governance has to be listened to. Whether it be through power sharing, adjusted governance, inclusivity or consensus government, we as a people have to sit together to work out our differences which still remain reconcilable. How much more do we need to see and feel?