Dear Editor,
REFERRING to Demerara Waves November 18, 2018 headlined report, “No more Mr Nice Time: APNU targets PPP supporters, NDCs that sabotage government – Harmon”, let me be among the first to fully support this measure that the coalition government, of which Minister Harmon is a member, intends to take against the stated category.

Of course, one should expect the howlings and accusations” of threats against our members” and even that good old, but worn out cry of “witch hunting” coming from the usual voices at Freedom House. And of course, they will deny the fact of the minister’s statement. Nothing new, for we have heard of them before.

What Minister Harmon has revealed about the stymieing of projects orchestrated to make the government look bad, as well the continuing discriminatory practices in the NDCs where there are especially Afro Guyanese, are well known. In fact, well-known political commentators have been repeating these warnings in their weekly columns, as well as contributors to the letter pages. But these saboteurs do not only exist in NDCs – they are ensconced in senior positions in many public service departments, where many junior staff have been discussing their wicked and evil acts with relatives and friends, which are designed to embarrass the David Granger administration.

Simply put, such actions have been the major staple served up by the PPP/C- aligned personnel within the public service, and in PPP/C-controlled NDCs where they are providing social amenities for African communities.

As an aside, it is no secret that Afro-Guyanese communities, such as Sophia, suffered decades of neglect during the tenure of the last administration. But within the last three years, this community has been given asphalted roads, street electrification, and potable water in many of its areas. It is a work in continuity, because of its vastness.
There is no doubt that the government would have been receiving complaints from its constituents in these PPP/C-controlled NDCs; and even now, with the APNU fanning out into its constituencies, their supporters are complaining.

There is absolutely no doubt, that this would have been one of the reasons for the low voter turnout in their many constituencies.
I have always questioned the government’s decision to end its removal of dubious individuals from their posts within the many state departments. This came about, I believe, because the President wanted to be guided by the concept of a professional public service, whereby government had been prepared to have any public servant, regardless of political affiliation, continue in its employ and provided that he/she performs in the best interests of the public.

Such an understanding would be a departure from a politically-controlled public employment system, which would only be prejudicial in its service to sections of the general public, while being injurious to the public’s good.
Many of these persons, despite being retained, have been central in the efforts to bring the government’s many socio-economic programmes to a halt. One only has to recall the slow-paced execution of the Public Sector Investment Programmes (PSIPs), and the government’s monitoring mechanism which resulted in an exponential implementation rate. Though not related, one can also point to the now infamous shortage of foreign currency plot, no doubt politically inspired, by sections of the business community.

This current administration is faced by a concerted effort of forces, inclusive of NDCs inherently racist, and with extreme vested interests, that are primarily influenced by the impending flow of oil as from 2020. They are all hell bent on making it difficult for the current administration to govern this country. This began from the onset of this government’s tenure in office, led by an opposition that refused to accept the 2015 elections.

It is time that the government publicly expose these particular persons,and their anti-national programmes, whose continuous mission of denying supporters of the government amenities, constitutes a denial of their human rights in addition to creating the grounds for disenchantment with the government.

Regards,
Dillon Goring