KINDLY allow me space in your newspaper to comment on the PPP’s non-participation in the official political processes in Guyana since the May 2015 national elections.

We have a new Government in Guyana. I firmly believe there is no gain for Guyana with the continued non-participation of the PPP/C in the national affairs of the country. Issuing strong press releases do not carry the same cogent effects as taking on the formal responsibility as an Opposition party and participating in Parliament and other arenas. Nor is there any wisdom in not contesting the up-coming regional elections. With respect to this latter, it is not enough to seek the resignation of Dr. Surujbally. What produced the election results in Guyana was an institutional process, not an individual, irrespective of his/her designation. But for the record, much of the election results should be credited to the PPP/C’s narrow vision of development and attendant unimpressive socio-economic performance over 22 years in Government.
The PPP/C was given a mandate by over 200,000 electors who believed that they and their families’ interests would be best represented by that party. By excluding themselves from the accepted official space for national debates and dialogue and resorting to issuing press releases, the PPP/C reminds me of my three year old grandson who, when he realises he cannot get his way, will mutter “I don’t talk to you!”. This infantile behaviour does bring joy to parents and grandparents, but for a political party that has done so much for Guyana, this attitude is pure silliness, lacks strategy, reflects inflexibility and stubbornness, and is most unintelligent.
There is a long history of processes
called ‘negotiation’, ‘dialogue’, ‘compromise’, ‘bipartisanship’, ‘engagement’, etc., in the corporate and political world. These have produced some of the best ‘win-win’ results. They should be at the very core of any portfolio of assets aimed at producing real change in Guyana. Not stubbornness, exclusion, inflexibility, or a sense of having a ‘monopoly of what is good or right’. These have been antithetical to real development in Guyana over the past 49 years and both the PPP/C and APNU/AFC must depart from this failure in public policy.
I therefore urge the PPP/C to re-strategise its position and officially take on the role of Opposition Party for the benefit of Guyana and the families who supported it in the last general election.

BALLAYRAM