APNU+AFC activist, Car ol Smith-Joseph;

Dangerous rhetoric from PNC/APNU/AFC/WPA must be exposed for what it is

Dear Editor,

It has now been two days since the APNU+AFC Coalition public rally at Parade Ground on August 2nd and the reports by Guyana’s media have been curiously silent on the brazen divisive and racist rhetoric that was peddled at that event.

There were eleven speakers that the event: Christopher Jones; Coretta McDonald; Kidackie Amsterdam (WPA representative); Juretha Fernandes (AFC representative); Vincent Henry (Guyana Action Party representative); Amanza Walton-Desir (PNCR representative); Ganesh Mahipaul (PNCR representative); Mervyn Williams; Sherod Duncan (AFC representative); David Hinds (WPA representative); and Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton.

Surprisingly, the ringmaster, Sherod Duncan, was not even among the contentious speakers. The other speakers attempted to insult the intelligence of Guyanese – for example, Juretha Fernandes with her fuzzy mathematics and her asinine talk about the national budget sum being divided by the number of Guyanese each citizen could get $236,000. The majority of the statements by other speakers were not substantiated; rather were clearly intended to rile up emotive sentiments.

The worst of the lot was undoubtedly David Hinds and his “What we want is power” declarations, as well as comments that underscored a ‘bruk-up’ mentality that was a terrifying call-back to the ‘Slow Fyah, Moh Fyah’ times.

David Hinds, the penultimate speaker before Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, took the stage, was quoted by Demerara Waves, in an article headlined ‘No clean voters list, no election- Norton’, as saying: “We are going to be at the table for our share of the oil money.” What that article failed to add was the next part of that comment. Hinds’ full comment was: “I’m saying we gotta be at the table. And if you don’t want us at the table, we gonna kick down the feet of the table.”

Other offensive comments from Hinds, included: “We are saying your boots get too big for your foot and we will cut you down to size”; and “This present fake plantation we are going to kick them down,” etc. These comments come from a personality whose primary contention, by his own admission, is that: “We live in a land that is racialized. When you say sugar workers, you mean Indian Guyanese. When you say Public Servants you mean African Guyanese. When you say Police and Army you mean African Guyanese.”

Looking at the big picture, David Hinds’ posture can only be described as that of a bitter personality, who has no reservations about spewing divisive rhetoric and unsubstantiated comments.

Thankfully, Demerara Waves, highlighted that some of the rally’s attendees “travelled aboard at least 20 buses including three 30-seaters from Linden, Berbice and East Coast Demerara” – a fact that underscores that there is little genuine interest being generated, particularly amongst its Georgetown supporters, by the PNC, APNU/AFC and WPA.

Interestingly enough, David Hinds’ objectionable speech at the rally was the only video that was not singularly posted on the Coalition’s social media pages, along with those of the other main speakers.

Still, news outlets, on which the public depends, did not call attention to this dangerous rhetoric.

How do we create space for our people to work together if those who seek to divide us for political gains are not held accountable? If we do not call out this attempt to divide our people, how will we hold those who would parade themselves as leaders accountable? How will we move forward together as a people?

What is clear is that true interest in working together continues to be an avenue that the PNCR, APNU/AFC and WPA ignore, opting instead for the current lame-horse they are riding to 2025.

Respectfully yours, Brian Azore Dear Editor,

August 2 marks two years since the PPP/C was elected to office in the March 2, General and Regional elections. For the first time in our electoral history the results of an election took such a long time to be officially declared. Be that as it may, Guyana, under President Irfaan Ali, has been making great strides and is today an important player on the regional and international stage. Indeed, Guyana is now regarded as one of the fasted growing economies in the world, thanks to oil and gas and economic and fiscal management. The prospects for Guyana’s medium to long term development looks good as the administration is investing heavily on infrastructural development while placing much emphasis on the development of its human and social capital. This convergence, at an accelerated pace, has the potential to transform Guyana’s economy to one of the strongest in the region. The biggest challenge is to find ways to get the main opposition party to play its role within the framework of the constitution and the norms of democracy and responsible conduct. Regrettably, the APNU+AFC continue to peddle a false narrative of being ‘cheated’ out of office and unashamedly refer to the PPP/C as an ‘installed’ regime despite the results of the elections were verified as free, fair and transparent by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and local and international observers.

Such a stance is misleading and counter-productive from the standpoint of our image as a democratic and rules-based society.

President Ali recently corrected a number of false perceptions regarding governance in Guyana by some misguided persons in the United States. It is sad that some individuals base their conclusions on false and unsubstantiated premises and apparently not on the basis of facts and objective reality. The PPP/C administration, meanwhile, continues to press ahead with its people-centered development agenda based on the ‘One Guyana’ vision as articulated by President Ali. The achievements of the government are there and much more is expected as its modernization program picks up momentum in the years ahead.

Sincerely, Hydar Ally

Avoiding to call out PNC/APNU/AFC on lies, division

Dear Editor,

Timothy Jonas of ANUG appeared as a guest on a local talk show, and in expressing his views on the need for constitutional change and inclusive governance – which for some reason is only promulgated when the PNC (now APNU+AFC) finds itself in the Opposition – Jonas hypothesised that the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board should have 3 persons from the Opposition, 3 from the Government, and one neutral as a means of ensuring inclusivity and preventing cries of corruption and discrimination.

This he posited that, once replicated across the board, including in the awarding of contracts in the oil and gas sector, would ensure a role in the governance structure for the Opposition, and their supporters will not be shut out from benefitting from contracts.

This is all nice-sounding, but when looked at from a logical and real-politick perspective, not only is it foolish and impractical, but when Mr Jonas was asked to provide an example of this model at work anywhere in the US, UK, Canada, India, or anywhere else in the world, he was unable to.

Why? First off, what would be the purpose of holding an election if the losing party still gets to shape policies and even disrupt the developmental agenda of the party whose plans and promises won it the election?

And I mention disrupting because, under Mr. Jonas’s model, the losing party can stymie the awarding of contracts for major developmental projects at NPTAB using their 3 nominees.

Another point to note is the contradiction in the positions of Mr. Jonas and his party. On one hand, they are calling for the scrapping of the 3,3+1 Carter/Price Formula at GECOM, which worked as it was intended to for decades, until the PNC/APNU+AFC got into office. On the other hand, they are pushing the very 3, 3+1 formula for NPTAB and the oil and gas sector as the panacea for perceived corruption and discrimination.

But what the behaviour of the David Granger Administration and the PNC/APNU+AFC has shown over time is that we can have the most well-intentioned formula or laws, they will simply do as they please when it suits them. One only has to look at their rejection of 18 names put forward by the then PPP/C Opposition for the Chairmanship of GECOM, or their sudden inability to calculate the majority of 65 after losing the no-confidence vote, to see how impracticable Mr. Jonas is being.

But what I believe Mr. Jonas is doing is avoiding calling out the PNC/APNU+AFC on their politics of outright lies and division. I believe that, in the case of Mr. Jonas, fear is the driving factor. He is afraid of the attacks from the PNC/APNU+AFC US-based lunatic fringe. So, in order to circle around having to call them out, he has resorted to the familiar ‘inclusivity’ mantra, which was in a comatose state between 2015 and 2020.

The difficulty came about when he was challenged to explain how this inclusivity would work.

Guyanese are not fools, though.

Sincerely, Thomas Cole

Aubrey Norton’s allegations... (From page 4)

that, in the past year, more than $600 million was already invested in Sophia for infrastructure upgrades, the construction of a multipurpose facility, and the disbursement of home improvement subsidies.

Editor, I can go on and on. I can even invoke Buxton and Agricola, but I think that my point is well-made. Aubrey Norton is fanning the waning flame of racism. He is seeking to invigorate a dying ‘race’ sentiment. I am happy that numbers are not on his side, and his puerile quest is becoming overtly known. In fact, his crusade is being rejected bit by bit. He cannot corroborate his denouncement of the Government. He also cannot sustain his propaganda that the PPP/C is practising both ‘political and ethnic discrimination.’