Latest update May 13th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 26, 2016 Features / Columnists, Letters
Dear Editor,
I crave your indulgence to respond to Mr. Freddie Kissoon’s column, which was published in Kaieteur News on Monday August 22, 2016, captioned, “The WPA is appearing dishonest and barefaced”. Mr. Editor, this is not the first time nor will it be the last occasion that Mr. Kissoon has questioned and will question the WPA’s politics and our political judgment on how to best influence political developments in the country. Additionally, on several occasions in the past Kissoon had deemed the party to be dead and buried. It seems to me that he is so haunted by the ‘ghost’ of this organization that he has tremendous difficulty in finding a final resting place for its carcass. That is why his position as regards to the WPA is so contradictory.
On the one hand he sees the WPA as dead, and on the other hand he has high expectations of this dead entity. Someone should help him to make up his mind as to whether the WPA is really dead and buried or, is in fact alive. What I find somewhat surprising is the accusation in his article of the WPA as being “dishonest and barefaced”. Freddie’s latest accusation is a new one. Having read his column I see nothing in it to support his claim of our dishonesty and barefacedness.
Editor, because one is never certain what motivates Kissoon on these matters, you are forced to wonder if he is really attempting an objective political analysis of a situation or, if in fact he is being driven by a hidden political agenda (which I believe is the case in this instance) and is in the process, attempting to use the WPA to bolster the political fortunes of his chosen political allies.
Whatever are the reasons driving him, his public pronouncements are usually important enough to warrant a public response, since the reading public take note of his utterances. Kissoon’s attempts to compare the WPA’s approach to matters relating to the coalition government with that of the AFC, while appearing on the surface to be reasonable, at closer examination, they are misplaced and unfair.
The views I am about to express are purely mine and not the WPA’s and the WPA is therefore not bound by them. Objectively, the AFC has a greater responsibility for what takes place in the government than the WPA. (1) The AFC has 40% of the government while the WPA at best, has 2%. Please note that this is not intended as a complaint on my part, but must be seen for what it is a pure stating of the facts. (2) Since in recent times the WPA has not contested elections in its name, its electoral strength is questionable. Some of our detractors say that electorally we are irrelevant. However, while I respect the right of persons to have this view of the WPA, I disagree with them.
While some may say otherwise, in my view the WPA is politically more relevant in the present and future politics of the nation. As a party, WPA takes this perception of the party into its political calculations, and the way it engages politically is informed by this.(3) The AFC does not have the same problematic history with the PNCR as the WPA ,therefore they have more freedom to engage without the risk of being accused of pursuing old political vendettas. Some will say that that thinking is over-played. However, our experiences on the ground make it an important factor in determining how we engage politically. (4) It is only the politically naïve who will not realize that the WPA is in a difficult position.
This has been compounded by the PPP’s use of the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (WRCOI) in the politics of the country. Further, the PNCR’s position on the WRCOI, from the commencement of the hearings up to and even after, the report on its findings has exacerbated the situation. In that political environment it is hard, if not impossible to be understood even when you are being objective and taking a principled position. (5) Given the complicated nature of WPA, PNCR, and AFC political relations, the WPA politics in the coalition is not always as straight forward a matter as it appears.
This has become even more problematic since the party is not a favored political force in the public media at this time of its history. These realities put us at a great disadvantage when we have to explain our position. This allows our detractors to exploit our position. Another factor that complicates politics in Guyana is the partisan political and racial division in the society, and a populace conditioned to simplistic politics, compounds the problems. (6) The inability of the APNU leadership organs to meet also negatively affects our engagements on issues. This needs no elaboration. (7) WPA’s ability to engage in a responsible way is also influenced by the fact that it has only one representative in the cabinet. Unfortunately that person has a questionable approach to cabinet business and the issue of confidentiality. The Party’s executive members agonize over having to be restricted to information in the public domain on important government business. This does not allow for effective political interventions.
In closing, I want to say that while I do not share Freddie’s view that the WPA is “dishonest” and “barefaced, I tend to agree with him, that in spite of the challenges facing the party, it ought to speak out on some issues impacting the country in a more timely way. However we have to be mindful that in doing so, we don’t help the PPP’s cause and undermine the APNU+AFC coalition and government. In my view WPA’s criticisms of the government must be objective, must be based on reliable information and must be well calculated, if it is to have a positive impact. The WPA’s criticism of the government can in some regards undermine the political situation in the country. Conscious of this reality we in the WPA often see it as a duty to err on the side of caution.
Tacuma Ogunseye
Listen how to run an oil country
May 13, 2024
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