Any impartial observer of life in Guyana would have to conclude that this country is now divided down the middle on every conceivable issue and most gravely, along political lines. There is little or no space left for middle positions, neutrality or even swinging loyalties. You are judged on the firm stand that you take on every issue that comes up. This fact is brought home starkly by the ensuing Gajraj affair. Citizens have taken a position that they either accept the need for an inquiry into the allegations or they do not. To my mind this issue has also exposed the core of the Guyana problem i.e. the divisions which exist. Rather than throwing blame from Columbus through to Burnham to Jagdeo, we ought quickly to identify the source of our problem and apply a solution as a matter of extreme urgency.
Despite all of the writings about six races living harmoniously in Guyana, this has turned out to be a fallacy. The two larger groupings after more than a century of living together and sharing the same space remain just as distrustful of each other as they were in 1834 when the indentured labourers arrived. The other groups have all but been trampled in the melee and forgotten.
Our constitutional system
It has to be accepted that taking all of the imperfections of the Westminster system into account, there has to be a representative body of persons who are directly elected by the people and give genuine representation to the people. Using the Gajraj affair again as a reference point, it is strange that a government could take a decision that there will be no inquiry even in the face of universal calls for it. My point is that in a healthy democracy, even if a group of persons living in the mountains felt aggrieved by the actions of a minister of Government, that groups' call for an investigation would have to be listened to. This is democracy, not the claim that because you got a majority of votes at the last elections you are entitled to ignore the cries and concerns of the others whether they number 2 or 200,000.
Guyana, or rather we the people of Guyana, are faced with several definite options in the near future. We can ignore our problems and continue to drift as a failed state incurring the odium of the region and world. In this mode, crime, corruption, drug smuggling, and warlordism will become the distinguishing characteristics of the state until they eventually consume it. We can lock horns in perpetual battle giving effect to the action/reaction syndrome trampling everything between our feet and each other until we are too exhausted to fight any more and too weak to notice when the highways of Brazil and Venezuela have reached the Capital. Or we can address the constitutional realities of our situation and start a process of widespread reform that allows every citizen through their appointed representatives to have a voice in a truly representative government. Our problem is not a PPP/C created problem but by the very fact that they hold the reins of government and have been less than perfect in their administration of the affairs of state, the problems have been exacerbated and multiplied. The solution has to be a government that can no longer be relied on to regulate itself, there must be a solution that has to be initiated by the President immediately failing which the people will seek to transform this country into something that we may never recognise and which will benefit no one. A government that turns its back on reason, on the pleas of the people will never triumph.
I believe that this government should be given an opportunity to offer a symbolic resignation and simultaneously invite political parties and civil society members alike to sit with it to form a new government that can tackle head on and with confidence the myriad problems that have to be immediately confronted. Failure to act now and before the next general elections are held will prove fatal to the people. The time to act is now.