THE Alliance for Change has made its worst strategic blunder in its short lifespan. For the first time I have witnessed such intense anger being focused directly on the treachery and lies being peddled by the AFC. 

I have written volumes about the lies and deceit, but for the first time, many Berbicians who have supported the AFC in the past, have come out openly and condemned the coalition between the AFC and APNU, and are crying betrayal. Sugar workers are so angry that they have become paranoid.
Ever since the prorogation of Parliament, presenters such as Ramayya, Ramjattan, Samad, Mark Ross and Charrandass Persaud have been vociferously denying the coalition talks between APNU and AFC. But the truth is now in the open.
On Saturday, February 14, Dr Ramayya was vociferously attacked by callers into the AFC programme on DTV, who called him a pathological liar, and one who betrayed the trust of AFC supporters in Berbice. Ramayya had on numerous occasions made claims that if the AFC should ever coalesce with APNU, that he was going to resign from the AFC and from politics. The callers asked him why he was still on the programme, and he tried his best to divert from the questions by drawing attention to an unrelated article in the Kaieteur News. The ‘leader-or-nothing’ stance has left the AFC with just ‘nothing’. The AFC support in Berbice is now dead, and the AFC has become ‘dead meat’. This is the only truth Ramjattan has uttered in recent times! Mr Edwards, the ex-General Secretary of the AFC told me this a long time ago.
However, I was surprised by the fact that the coalition will give birth to three Vice-Presidents. If I could recall, Nagamootoo always spoke about Dr Jagan wanting a ‘lean and clean’ government, and cannot fathom the leanness of three Vice-Presidents in this context. The coalition seems bent on following the Burnham Touch from the inception. Vice-Presidents are a product of the dark PNC era. PPP members who defected were given Vice-Presidential positions to reward them. The same modus operandi is used to reward defectors from other Parties. Is this a coincident or a premonition of what is to come?
Moreover, I have learnt, with some amusement, that the President will ‘delegate’ additional powers to the Prime Minister under the Accord. I do hope that Moses is aware that such delegation cannot work, as long as it is in direct contravention of the Constitution. The Constitution clearly sets out the duties and responsibilities of the Prime Minister; and that is the Supreme Law of the land.
At this point, I want to draw attention to a serious racist attack on the PPP by Dr Ramayya. This racist attack is mischievous, and is aimed at inciting racial strife among Indian supporters of the PPP and Afro-Guyanese supporters of APNU. He categorically stated, among other things, that “the PPP hates Black pPeople and does not want a black man to run this country.” He insisted that this was being peddled by PPP officials. This man should be reported to the Ethnic Relations Commission, since it can ignite racial strife, especially at this time, with elections around the corner.
Lastly, Ramayya said that Moses was so happy that he cried, but a caller reminded him that Moses must have cried for the Presidency, and that soon AFC will be kicked out, just like what happened to the UF.
The greed for power and money can make people insane. I leave this quote to the AFC leaders: “Those who do not know the value of loyalty can never appreciate the cost of betrayal,” but they will soon find out the cost of betrayal!

HASEEF YUSUF
AFC Councillor-Region 6