Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 30, 2021 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon
Kaieteur News – Dear Mr. Winston Jordan, the Kaieteur News pays me. I cannot say that I am enamoured with my returns. But I pay taxes on that comparatively speaking, small sum and I am annoyed at that, I must confess. I thank you for the following words you have used in your response to me in the KN last Thursday that went like this, “everyone is entitled to their opinion.”
I interpret those words to mean that you respect that I have the right to express my feelings. Of course, such deliveries must be circumspect and avoid libelous contents. I can assure you in the continuation of this column here I will be respectful and avoid attacks.
The reason I say that this newspaper pays me, is because it expects me to write on subjects, topics, developments, people and places that readers want to know about. This goes for every columnist with every newspaper and television commentator in all media houses in all countries. The paper will call in its columnist to suggest that he/she is consistently irrelevant in a country where people want analyses and interpretations of things that are unfolding.
I believe that the tenure of the former government of the APNU+AFC should be scrutinised. Nothing less should be acceptable in a world where citizens need to know what powerful persons in government did and are doing and how they did and are doing it.
Your reply to me has given me scope to further express my views particularly with the words that ended your letter. It went like this, “Now, I return to my slumber, where I have retired to gain peace from this maddening and decaying society of ours.” That ending is a formidable outlook on present-day Guyana. Any political analyst would jump on it to ask for elaboration. I am hereby posing a set of questions. Should Mr. Jordan reply, his answers should find their way into the history books.
1-When did the decay begin? I think any independent mind would argue that it started before APNU+AFC secured state power. It was because of the maddening temperature prior to APNU+AFC’s rise to power that the PNC along with the AFC was voted into power.
2 – Did the rot continue under the APNU+AFC? If the answer is no, then what was the stellar performance of the APNU+AFC like. In what areas did the APNU+AFC outdid the previous PPP government. Was it in agriculture, race relations, empowerment of youth, alleviation of poverty, improvement in services to the poor, a functioning and effective UG, better quality in public schools, a better serviced Georgetown Hospital, improvement in general service, lessening in the crime rate, substantial salary increases, etc.
3- If decay and insanity characterise Guyana, surely, it could not have started with the Ali presidency which is just 14 months old. What could have happened in 14 months to cause a deluge of rot in Guyana?
4- Are there things that the PNC is doing even while out of power that are vexatious thus adding to the already existing madness?
Let’s examine parts of a confidential AFC document which indicates that the AFC believes that the PNC is an unprincipled party even out of power.
I quote from that dossier. “From all indications in the media and in political circles, the PNC is not honouring the letter of the agreement, has acted unilaterally, disrespected its partners, and could well jettison the Accord to expand its power in the Parliament and regional councils.”
When one studies this statement, surely, the madness and decay cannot come from the corridors of power only. What this statement means is that Guyana’s political culture is seriously deformed. Here is another quote that has meaning for the stability of politics in this land. Here is how the AFC refers to the PNC, “It is clear that the AFC must emancipate itself from the PNC which has shown mediocre leadership in the current political environment.”
We return to the question posed above, when did the decay start? Here is more from the AFC’s document. It says, “The PNC was allowed to lead the Government in a manner that was in many respects inimical to the core principles of the AFC.” To understand how the decay became saturated all over the land, one just has to look at one of the worst episodes of attempted election rigging in the late 20th century and the 21st century. Even if this country was a maddening and decaying society before 2020, no minister or big wig or influential authority in the government of the APNU+AFC can deny that the five months of attempted rigging have deepened the madness and decay.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
Mar 28, 2024
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