Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Dec 06, 2017 Letters
DEAR EDITOR,
The willingness of Guyanese, or lack thereof, to recognize that we have been caught up in a political and economic crisis which stretches as far back as 1968 when the first in a series of post-independence elections was blatantly rigged, upturning Guyana’s democracy, does not in any way subtract from this truth.
This crisis was further exacerbated by Burnham amending the 1980 Constitution which effectively voided the courts from questioning any decisions made by him, and effectively held him above the law by denying our courts the right to bring charges against him even after he demitted office.
The relevant section, Article 182, reads as follows:
“182 (1)… The holder of the office of President shall not be personally answerable to any court for the performance of the functions of his or her office or for any act done in the performance of those functions and no proceedings, whether criminal or civil, shall be instituted against him or her in his or her personal capacity in respect thereof either during his or her term of office or thereafter.”
Burnham’s systematic subversion of our democracy, which we allowed, provided him the avenue to embark on his socialist pursuits which in sum brought Guyana to its knees by the time of his death in 1985.
It is this same constitution which today remains in force even after the change of government in 1992, which successive administrations and presidents have promised, but have to date, neglected to amend to rid it of elements, which effectively put all of our lives at the behest of the president and voids him of any obligation to account for any decision and action he makes.
The issue of the autonomy granted to the president by our constitution, to date, seems central to any administration during its term in office, deferring any initiative to adopt policies which would see all Guyanese benefitting from increased welfare and a better standard of living than we have obtained after fifty-one years of independence, and are likely to benefit from under either the PPP or the coalition administration in the future. This is because the power granted to the president effectively voids the administration’s obligation to exercise the rule of law under any instance. For example, the constitution effectively bars the courts from pursuing due process against any president, for any perceived breaches of the law during his term in office. It is impossible for our judiciary, for instance, to question any decision or act of the incumbent during his term in office.
Effectively, Guyana is a country whose democracy and rule of law have been subverted to the whims and fancies of any outrageous president under our constitution. This is not a trifling issue, and is one to which I wish to add my voice to the call that all Guyanese need to start speaking up for immediate address.
Another big political issue which has to be addressed if Guyana is to move forward is the sugar workers’ seeming blind and unstinting support of the PPP in the face of all available evidence that the PPP is a rogue organization, and the fact that the PPP essentially crippled the lives of sugar workers themselves.
Sugar workers need to recognize that they have been used by the PPP. This is evident in the fact that it was sugar workers who consistently provided votes for the PPP to remain in office during its 23 years in office, and it is also the sugar workers who suffered much and probably more than most Guyanese, under the PPP’s terms in government. They were systematically abused by the PPP for political gain, the abuse beginning with the manipulation of the leadership of the union representing sugar workers.
Notwithstanding the fact that the majority of sugar workers did not enjoy any kind of welfare to speak of, discussions with a number of individuals revealed that a large majority of sugar workers were left, for the most part, without the skills to seek alternative job opportunities, incapable of appreciating what was happening to them, understanding Guyana’s own economic and political problems, and how they were effectively being maintained by the PPP, even with the use of taxpayers’ dollars, just to secure their votes at election time.
Sugar workers need to seriously examine what they get from working in the sugar industry. They have to consider whether cutting cane is a viable career, or how they would like to spend the rest of their lives earning their keep. Are they satisfied with the life of a sugar worker?
Is this something they would recommend to their children? Are their jobs secure? Is there much scope for advancement? And can they see themselves being able to buy a house or car, or look after their family in times of need and send their children to university? If not, then they seriously need to consider alternative ways of earning a living.
Sugar workers and their families have been plundered by the Peoples Progressive Party. They have borne the brunt of much political manipulation by the Peoples Progressive Party at the expense of their welfare. They need to be treated more fairly. The PPP has never done this.
Sugar workers must first recognize they were engineered to their current predicament by the PPP.
The passage of two-plus years of the Coalition’s administration would not have improved their situation had the PPP been in government, except, that a PPP government would have kept the estates open at the expense of billions of taxpayers’ dollars, and as they did to the Diamond estate, gradually close out the severely distressed estates when it was politically expedient to do so.
Sugar workers must understand that Guyana’s sugar industry is coming to a close, and the most they can do is see what they can get at the negotiating table. They also need to thank the Peoples Progressive Party for effectively reducing their lives and available opportunities to next to nothing, when they had the opportunity to do much more than sink US$200 million into Skeldon, which marked the beginning of the end of the industry.
The PPP did not save them then, and they will never be able to provide alternative options for sugar workers, because if they did want to, they would have done so when they had the chance. Sugar workers can expect nothing from the PPP except another 23 years of using.
Sugar workers must understand that the industry was founded on the exploitation of sugar workers, and this will never change.
Craig Sylvester
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