The opposition collective has had an epiphany.  They are making pronouncements on moral rectitude, integrity, flooding in Guyana, neglect of farmers, violence against women and children, corruption, crime, problems in the sugar industry, the rice industry, the bauxite industry, et al  to indicate that they epitomise morality, integrity, good governance, wise and effective fiscal management, equitable, fair, and just treatment to women, children, and the vulnerable in society, and all good and decent things.
Constrained space in this editorial column does not permit comprehensive statistical data, but there is a preponderance of records and evidence to show how hypocritical these pronouncements are.  Only the credulous will even consider, with any seriousness, the utterances of the main members of the combined opposition to have any moral framework on which to establish credibility.
In direct correlation to the AFC/APNU/PNC’s positions are its echoes – Christopher Ram, Frederick Kissoon, the opposition media cabal, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), although most victims of crime in Guyana refer to that body by another acronym, which is more a pejorative, and an indictment of the morality and integrity of that self-appointed body, which ostensibly represents human rights in Guyana, but which is perceived to instead serve the vested interests of those organisations and persons who support, assist, and encourage criminals to wreak havoc in society.
On what grounds can the opposition cabal pronounce on moral rectitude, integrity and good governance – with any degree of credibility- when it is the former PNC Government, in which Mr. Corbin held several important portfolios, which ran the sugar industry, as it did all the major industries in Guyana, into the ground; from which the PPP/C Government has been slowly but surely, making errors sometimes but correcting those errors, exploring avenues and implementing systems to resuscitate the viability of those industries – rice, bauxite, sugar, etc, even taking an aggressive approach to marketing Guyana’s non-traditional products, including tourism.
The collective opposition’s track-record of opposing merely for the sake of political expediency has resulted in its most credible member, the late Winston Murray, a man who, in order to retain his record of impeccable integrity and contribution to the national good, resigned from the Chair of that organisation, which had, of recent times, seen the loss and/or alienation of some of its most stalwart members who had contributed significantly to the growth and development of that party.  The latest being veteran PNC-ite, Dr. Faith Harding.  And within the enclaves of both the AFC and PNC there have been continuous struggles for leadership positions, with accusations at Congress Place of rigging of elections and manipulation of systems to engineer outcomes of membership and leadership selections for various positions in that party – including that of the leadership.
The latest imbroglio is the sanctimonious claims by the opposition cabal and its media satellites about a secret deal between trading giant, ANSA McAl and the Government of Guyana.
Given Mr. Granger’s history, he should have taken into account that he is not perceived to be an example of moral rectitude, with enough credibility to assume a position on a high moral ground.
He has been pontificating on the issue of violence in the society, but he has himself been publicly accused of perpetrating some of the most heinous crimes against his fellow Guyanese, especially PPP supporters. It is a matter of public record, open to anyone’s scrutiny, that he served as security advisor to both Presidents Forbes Burnham and Desmond Hoyte when the security services were firmly under the thumbs of both Presidents and their administrative constructs.
And one wonders where were all these very strident voices currently supporting the opposition when these and other allegations were being made, bearing in mind that the acts for which they are lambasting and castigating members of the government are merely that – allegations.
However, what takes the cake is their unending litany of corruption in the governmental structure, while ignoring the fact that most of the perpetrators fingered are public servants, whom everyone is aware are mainly PNC supporters.  The fact that public servants are employed by the government in no way makes the administration culpable for infractions of the law by individuals; and how could one forget that corruption became endemic in the society during the long years of PNC (mis)rule and (mis)management of the social and administrative structures in the nation?
An attempt to restore accountability in public office by auditing public accounts saw protest actions and accusations of discrimination when thefts were discovered and the perpetrators were either dismissed and/or charged.  A case in point is the demonisation of Ms. Sita Ramlall when she sought to re-institute a system of accountability within the jurisdiction of her mandate.
It was only when the PPP/C established the Public Accounts Committee, under the competent guidance and the chairmanship of the erudite and brilliant Mr. Winston Murray, then the truth and the range of thieving of public funds and assets came to light, and it is to that gentleman’s credit, and the credit of every member of that parliamentary committee, that they put party and individual considerations on the back-burner as they sought to put society and the nation first by attempting to restore accountability to public office through their scrutiny, investigations, deliberations, and considerations of the public accounts of the country.
And one wonders where was the collective opposition’s concern for farmers when the PNC/R government, of which AFC head Raphael Trotman was an integral component, neglected agriculture (discrimination against farming communities was also claimed) and the nation’s infrastructure to such an extent that Guyanese were being shunned as destitute ‘mudlanders’ looking for handouts from its Caribbean counterparts.
And under whose tenure did the kick-down-the-door phenomenon erupt, with all its sinister implications?  And who desecrated the nation’s symbol of nationhood and honour by draping it on the body of a notorious thief and murderer?  Who made ‘Blackie’ London and the infamous “Jailbreak five” heroes of the so-called “Buxton resistance”, when Buxtonians were themselves held hostage to the opposition-spawned and supported criminals?
And by the way, does the GHRA ever have its accounts audited and exhibited for public scrutiny?  What about the PNC/R, and the other opposition parties?  Do the professional members in the opposition – especially in the legal fraternity, pay their taxes? And what about their refusal to subject themselves to scrutiny by the Integrity Commission?
Space does not permit an expansion on this theme, but suffice it to say that, in clichéd but apt terms, “those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”