Land of the blind (Part I)
THE CRUX of what I am dealing with in this article is something that I was hoping to write about after the elections on the real chance that accusations of bias or partisan intent were levelled my way. There are some circumstances however, which necessitate me dealing with this issue now rather than then.  This has to do with my interaction with the President and my personal assessment of him as a leader and as an individual with whom I’ve had a professional relationship spanning 19 years.
During the time I’ve worked with the President, I’ve never been more enthused about the possibilities of what our country can develop into. His passion for total harmony among Guyanese is unequalled and can be compared to our late Dr. Cheddi Jagan. I recall seeing the pain he felt for his fellow Guyanese as his intervention during the 2005 floods strove to rebuild the faith of us all. An example of his passion to over achieve was the fact that he vigorously and effectively was able to construct a world class stadium at Providence in one year. For persons who truly know the man, his appetite for betterment and his zeal to want more for all Guyanese you will know, has been the main driving force which has kept him so obligated to ensuring development for Guyana.

All in all, the thing I find most impressive about the President is his energy and level of motivation and where I am concerned, the openness to new ideas and him being passionate about having things done coupled with his intolerance for non-performance.
What has been the result of that drive?  What for me is incontrovertible is that the President’s last term in office has once more seen remarkable changes for Guyana, one in which visionary leadership has not only resulted in tangible benefits for the country, but has raised the profile of Guyana, disproportionate to what our small size should be.
I’ve already commended the AFC’s Prime Ministerial candidate Raphael Trotman for his fair and frank acknowledgment some time last year of the strides Guyana has made and by and large I believe that his party has repeatedly acknowledged the areas we’ve made progress in, even while levelling criticisms at the administration.
I am shocked however; at other sections of the opposition (include certain sections of the media) in not acknowledging the positive changes made over the last six years. For me, it creates some credibility issues for the opposition, when you cannot – as we say in Guyana – “give Jack he jacket”.  It is common sense that people would be more open to your message if it changes from vicious and rabid acrimony to one of constructive criticism.
It is clear that a large part of our population, by virtue of their political affiliation, have been afflicted with a large blind spot with regard to how far we have come as a nation.  I’m not saying that things are perfect, or near to it, I’m not saying that all boats have risen equally, but what is clear is that we are evolving the economic strength to create the environment where all these things are possible.  The LCDS and its benefits are one example, as is the One Laptop Per Family project, the new fibre optic cable from Brazil, the Berbice Bridge and all of its economic manifestations are signs that we are stepping in the right direction towards being touted as a developed land. And it is for these reasons that I’m at times considerate to his reactions when dealing with factions who often misrepresent the work done by our leader so as to gain political mileage and at times can cause disharmony to our nation.
When these elections are over – and this is something that I have argued for in several instalments of this column – there are certain areas in which I would like to plead that there be some pact made between our politicians and the society at large in which certain issues are agreed to transcend partisan interests and politicization.
Crime is the first issue.  I do not believe that there should ever be any grey area between political parties and criminal enterprises, full stop.  Our lawmakers need to be unified in being where they are elected to be, on the side of law and order because any failure to do so emboldens criminals.  The Guyanese people have suffered enough from horrendous criminality in the past the10 years for there to be any equivocation on this issue.
National security and national sovereignty are other areas on which  we need to be united and hold one common stance.  As divided as we see Americans can be with regard to their internal politics, no one can accuse them of being divided on the face they present to the world and that is how any sovereign nation should act.
Finally, there is the area of natural disasters.  In many ways, natural disasters can and should be treated as threats to our national security.  We’ve seen the devastating effect that the flooding of 2005 had on us as a nation and while we’ve recovered, considering the current climatic environment and the instances of natural disasters around the world, we cannot have room for complacency or the possibility of division and a readiness to score cheap political points in this area.
In one of my recent articles, I spoke about the evolution of an advocacy group/think tank I am part of, from a decidedly partisan (it was called Friends of Donald Ramotar) intent to one with an overarching non-partisan approach to finding solutions to benefit Guyana. More on how far Guyana has come in next week’s instalment. I wish to close by thanking all veterans for their service to Guyana.