TOMORROW is Easter Monday and I take this opportunity to wish all Guyanese, especially our Christian brothers and sisters, peace and happiness as we again celebrate the resurrection of hope in a trouble-plagued world.
This has been a prolonged weekend of reflections from Holy Thursday through Good Friday and, now, Easter Monday. It is a time for family re-unions, bonding with friends and neighbours, and “liming” in the parks. The pervasive, aromatic aromas from bar-b-que grills say that our people are having a great time.
For believers, these days bring new meanings to the Passion, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection – all symbolised in the graceful life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

THE ROLE OF JUDAS
The treacherous role of Judas and his betrayal for 30 pieces of dirty silver would not be lost in this politically charged country, which is still under the shadow of that fateful, December 21, 2018 no-confidence vote in our National Assembly. That vote has been tainted and stained by what all honest Guyanese believe to be the kiss of a Judas!
But for our children, the symbols are metaphorically cross-buns and kites. The holidays allow them freedom to occupy all safe and open spaces where they could see their kites take to the skies, as they gleefully paint their own dreams for success in splashes of bright colours on the horizon.

RELIGIOUS, NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
Guyana has for many years observed some 19 (some say 20, as no one really works on Old Year’s Day) religious and national holidays during the year. This calendar in part testifies to our respect for our multi-culturalism, and open celebration of diverse beliefs and traditions. It also demonstrates commitment to nationhood and displays a patriotic embrace of our unique, distinct Guyanese nationality.
Recently, I shared an impression with others that as I travelled to several cities of the United States, I would see displayed on vehicles and buildings on diverse days, different flags – Mexican, German, Russian, etc. That suggested the co-existence of many nationalities in one country. In Guyana, we see many peoples, with a common flag, in one nation.

There can be no doubt that in addition to its diversity, Guyana is blessed. Nothing dramatises this more than the periodic discovery of huge deposits of oil in our off-shore wells. On Good Friday, the banner headline of the Guyana Chronicle reads, “EXXON IN 13TH STRIKE”, with the scrap lines, “adds to previously estimated 5.5 billion barrels of discovered recoverable resource”, as the “company mulls bringing 4th drillship.”

FORTUNES SOARING
Like the multitude of kites that would flutter in the winds tomorrow, our nation’s fortunes are soaring. It is not just the oil discoveries that give us hope, but the prospects that all of our people would benefit fairly, equitably and enormously from them. This assurance was repeated when Dr. Mark Bynoe, the head of the Department of Energy, stated:
“For years, Guyanese have heard of the country’s oil potential, and we are now seeing it manifesting. The Department of Energy intends to employ international best practice in managing this resource and the monies that will be derived therefrom, to give Guyanese the good life…” (Guyana Chronicle, April 19, 2019).
That assurance is comforting, even as I am reading the compelling and brilliant book, “WHY NATIONS FAIL”, written by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. Sub-titled “The origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty,” this mind-tickling account of what has gone wrong, and could go wrong, in many otherwise richly endowed countries, points to the importance of solid institutions, not just power, to temper what the authors described as the “politics of poverty and prosperity.”

THE POVERTY OF POLITICS
For much too long in post-independent Guyana, we have been plagued by what seems to be the poverty of politics, under a winner-takes-all system which leaves the loser bitter, cynical and confrontational, and trending towards ethnic strife and sabotage. Even the most celebrated achievements of the nation are painted by “losers” as a curse, as is the case of our oil discoveries, our new international airport, roads, bridges, schools, health facilities and expanding communications capacity.
The institutions that have been established to combat sleaze, such as the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), are disrespected, with calls recently from prime suspects for its disbandment.

The story in Guyana over the past four years has been about the establishment of institutions that could monitor and control political and bureaucratic excesses, which have contributed to disparities between rich and poor countries. Over these years, power has been used as a democratic tool to strengthen constitutional institutions such as the Parliament, the Judiciary and the Executive; and to fashion others to protect integrity in public life, and combat “blue collared” and other illicit activities such as money-laundering.
Over this period, the independence of financial-economic institutions such as the central and other banks, and the efficacy of revenue-stream bodies, such as the Guyana Revenue Authority, have been guaranteed.

POSITIVE RATINGS
It cannot go unnoticed that Guyana’s positive ratings for press freedom has been going up, since the watchdog role of the press is cardinal to ensuring that our institutions enjoy autonomy. Similar, hopeful signs have been emerging in areas of economic growth and open governance practices under our coalition government.
With good news from the oil and other developmental sectors, there is a need to further align our political system and economic institutions to work constructively and cohesively for the prosperity, rather than the poverty, of our nation.

Towards this end, we must take seriously the process of constitutional reform. The all-party, bi-partisan parliamentary committee must promptly get to work on finalising legislation to set up a Constitutional Reform Commission, as both government and opposition have a shared responsibility to build stronger systems and institutions to ensure our nation’s prosperity.
Like our kites in the Easter skies, we can hope to soar high once we set ourselves new horizons for our collective dream of Guyana being an enviable success story. The sacrifice and hope of Easter must mean no less to us all.
April 21, 2019