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Nov 15, 2016 Letters
Dear Editor,
A friend of mine felt it warranted to send me a screenshot of a recent Facebook post made by the Honourable PPP Member of Parliament, Mr. Nigel Dharamlall. More than the contents of the post, the authorship concerns me for a number of reasons which I will presently address. Permit me first to share the contents of the post. Mr. Dharamlall wrote:
“Dear #DavidGranger
Even though I didn’t support your party you have still been LUCKY to be installed as President of Guyana by GECOM. Since then though, your Brainlessness has been in Overdrive..everything that comes out of your Mouth makes you sound foolish…I’m worried that people are thinking that you are a Dud…And from the look of things you need some proper teeth…and scrub your tongue when you brush the few teeth that you have…ONE LOVE!!!” (unquote)
I have hereby preserved Mr. Dharamlall’s post in its exactitude, and I have attached herewith this letter the said screenshot of the post, which was assisted by a photo of H.E., Mr. Granger. I am never hasty in concluding the authenticity of things of this nature as I am mindful that technology is susceptible to infinite manipulation. I contemplated the likelihood of Mr. Dharamlall’s Facebook account being hacked and was prepared to receive as credible any such intimation. I took the liberty of perusing Mr. Dharamlall’s Facebook profile where I found the said and several other disparaging posts. Mr. Dharamlall later modified his post attempting to temper it with a condescending apology because certain ‘friends’ scolded him on his impropriety.
I have come across innumerable distasteful remarks about the government as constituted and several governmental officials. I have come across same for the opposition as constituted, and also in its former incarnation as the government. I have on occasions voiced my disquiet with these sentiments, both publicly and privately, and both in favour of the respective political divides. What distinguished the remarks then from the remarks I have invited into scrutiny is the authorship. All of the people I have taken objection to on this issue are ordinary citizens. Mr. Dharamlall does not enjoy the courtesy of this label because of the position he holds in Guyanese public life. And it is precisely for this reason I have gone the further step of engaging this forum to put in rather crude terms the unease Mr. Dharamlall has invoked from within me.
I believe that even the most rudimentary democracy demands that there must be a striking positive distinction between the conduct and expressions of political leaders and those of ordinary citizens. Mr. Dharamlall’s sentiments are not only distasteful, they are disrespectful. They are not only disrespectful of President Granger; they are disrespectful of every Guyanese citizen. They are unbecoming of a member of parliament; a young leader; and someone who obviously has aspirations to assume a more pronounced role in Guyanese politics.
Let me dispense with any impending suggestion that this was a personal post on Mr. Dharamlall’s personal Facebook page. The representations and sentiments of politicians on matters of public interest irrespective of where expressed are either theirs politically (once accompanied by the caveat that it is their view), or those of the party or organisation to which they belong. Political leadership is not like a garment we take off at the close of the workday to swap it for another to commence the new day. This duality among politicians is at the heart of politicians acting inconsistent with the collective interests of the citizens.
Perhaps there is a fundamental misconception of the role of the opposition and the consequential role of opposition parliamentarians. The opposition to the government is not the guardian only of the folks who do not approve of the government. They are not only representative of their supporters. The key role of the opposition is to ensure that the government does not disregard the collective interests of the citizens; the opposition, likened to a system, is a system of checks and balances. And the opposition should do this for its supporters as well as the supporters of the government. Opposition members are not paid from the tax dollars of their supporters only; the same as the government is not so paid.
So even if the citizens fail in the exercise of their democratic right to hold the government to a high level of governance and the opposition to a high standard of protective advocacy, it is incumbent upon leaders across the board to maintain the highest level and standard of political service. I am disappointed that this is the quality of Mr. Dharamlall’s protective advocacy for the collective interests of Guyanese. This simply cannot be the calibre of leadership we hold out as capable of advancing Guyana, especially when the charge is for a more visible presence of youths in politics/leadership. It is our sustained resignation to such political mediocrity which has ensured that our social, political and distributive economic richness is diametrically opposed to the enormous capacity of our material resources.
I have consistently criticised the misdeeds of the government, and those misdeeds are too many even for a young government. And I do encourage our citizens across the divide to voice their disquiet with the governance of our country. I do commend the PPP opposition whenever it brings the government’s missteps to the fore. There are far more potent ways to criticise harshly the actions of the government. Those in leadership roles should set the tone with intelligent, incisive and systematic critiques; and actions. I am optimistic that Mr. Dharamlall is not absent this capacity, and I await the emergence of a real political leader from the rubble of this obvious political immaturity. My brand of politics steers clear of superficial distinctions of race and gender; its core allies are those, of whichever extraction, are truly capable of unifying our citizens and crafting for them all a substantively better life. This is the ability I pray encompasses of young leaders, including Mr. Dharamlall.
Ronald J. Daniels
Attorney-at-Law
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As stated, he is young and ambitious. Therein lies what passes for his “reasoning”. He has witnessed his leader/s progress within his party using similar methods. If you have nothing substantial to back up your argument / policy, then you simply revert to “cuss-down”.
Worked for them, why not me?