A PUPPET PRESIDENCY, THE VINDICTIVE STATE IN AN OIL AND GAS ECONOMY
ON an average Georgetown sunny day on April 16th, 2009, Maria Van Beek was on her way to work. The Clico Judicial Manager/Commissioner of Insurance slowed down along Lombard Street because of traffic congestion. Within seconds of her car coming to a halt, a gunman approached her and shot her in the chest. On October 12th, 2008, Alicia Foster arrived home from a long day of work at the Environmental Protection Agency.

In attempting to park her car, two gunmen emerged from a tinted car and shot her in the face. On April 22, 2006, Minister of Agriculture Satyadeow Sawh retired to bed after a hard day of work. During his slumber, he was awakened by the sounds of live gunshots which eventually also consumed him, taking him to his fatal end. The three cases highlighted were symptomatic of a dark period in Guyana when the vindictive state controlled by the cabal, reigned supreme. In the cases mentioned, all the individuals were state employees who sought to enforce the rule of law and incurred the wrath of the vindictive state.

The Pre-2015 Vindictive State
This dark period was ended in 2015 when the Guyanese people decided that enough was enough and voted the David Granger administration into office. The people who controlled this diabolic governance system did not disappear. The wolves metamorphosed into sheep and sought refuge in quiet moral crevices of the society. They have ditched their cloven feet for wool, they have traded their execution garbs for suits, and have changed uncaring rhetoric to cries for the republic. If given the chance, they are prepared to run roughshod over the Guyanese state with renewed venom. It is unreasonable to conclude that the pre-2015 state vengeance will not play out again if the same people get their feet in the door. The popular mantra being touted and echoed loudly by those outside the halls of power is ‘take back our country.’ This political talking point harks back to the epoch of the fascists and Madeleine Albright warned, ‘…fascism concerns itself less with specific policies than with finding a pathway to power…’.

The Vindictive State in an oil and gas economy
There is absolutely no doubt that Guyana is on the cusp of the greatest economic boom in its entire existence. This is clearly due to its discovery of black gold. Enough ink has been splashed to establish that oil begets unprecedented fiscal options for any government that exercises tutelage over the country in which black gold abounds. If the vindictive state and its proponents get their hands on this oil and gas financial and fiscal largesse, it is reasonable to assume that we will see this Stalinist approach to power on steroids. For example, in the realm of dealing with perceived enemies of the state, there is nothing to suggest that we will not see manifestations such as rogue members of the security services at the senior level receiving super salaries to keep critics and communities that are not traditionally supporters of the vindictive state in check; new and advanced CCTV and drone technology at the disposal of bad government; slush funds at ready access for malevolent enterprises and a catalogue of wicked schemes that existed pre-2015, ungirded by newfound oil wealth. It is a frightening prospect and a stark reminder that elections have consequences.

A Puppet Presidency coupled with a vindictive state in an oil and gas economy
Consider all of the above mentioned in the context of an oil and gas economy. Pay attention to the possibility of the emergence of a puppet presidency where the head of state is being controlled by a string behind the scene. This string represents vested, greedy interests that have zero consideration for the people; its sole interest is to serve a mafia that spawns civil society, the media, business and political realms. This provides an even more dangerous scenario than that which existed pre-2015. This arrangement allows for there to be more state menace, since the intellectual author of the entire machination can hide behind the puppet presidency and is not forced to wear the face of the bad government. Serious and deadly abuse of the system beckons. It is a dangerous scenario that the country faces.

Conclusion
As a rule, every citizen should keep this mantra at the back of his/her mind every day of their civic lives: elections have consequences. The polls are not a place for play.