THE promise and sights of infrastructural development, namely, the building of hospitals, hotels, bridges, schools, roads, gas to shore and the list goes on, in this dear land of Guyana, should touch something somewhere deep in all of us to some degree, even if you are not in par or partnership with the PPP government, two years later in a second round in office.

I am not blowing sunshine on the PPP, far from it, but rather sharing a viewpoint that coincides with what most Guyanese are saying, oh man! We are seeing development, development, and development, amid disgruntled elements in oppositional sections and their acolytes snapping at ethnic and political discrimination. This position is in defiance of reality and awkward enough to elicit chuckles. I do understand and empathize, however.

For too long, going back to the colonial days, and continued into the post-independence period, this nation, a garland of beauty and promise, has been held back by colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, slavery, indentureship, dictatorship, political and ethnic tensions, crime, mass migration, and more, washing away intergenerational growth and development. The consequence is unfortunate despair and despondency among Guyana’s citizens as well as a thick-skinned approach to life. Anywhere you go, in or out Guyana, you will see Guyanese “hustling” to make a life, the only way they know, hustling from morning to night.

Cognisant of the above dynamics, this nation, under the current PPP administration, is progressing against a mountain of contemporary struggles such as the impact of COVID-19, floods, and saboteurs, thanks to oil revenues, on the promise and premise of One Guyana to improve the lives of all Guyanese. In the words of President Ali on his Emancipation Day message to the nation: “Every citizen will benefit from the opportunities which are being unlocked. We want every Guyanese to be part of the development, sharing in its transformation and in its resultant benefits.” I say amen.

Remarkably, too, is that not all is about dress, dance and speech. The PPP government continues to hold rallies, and public engagements, bringing itself closer to the populace, irrespective of ethnic background, keeping abreast of its manifesto campaign and indicating to the nation on how it would move forward. Come on, man! you must give Jack his jacket since this form of governance is an acme of goodwill laced with good intentions for all. Perhaps inadvertently, continuous engagement by the PPP administration to the people has dismissed the bloated oppositional claims that the government is moribund in the discharging of duties and responsibilities as so seen and heard in the speeches at Buxton on Emancipation Day and on various social media platforms. These individuals, in a surge of irrational impulses, were judge, jury, and executor of jungle justice at the same time.  May I ask, are these individuals blowhards, men of straw with thinned skin projecting a thick-skinned attitude? Where is the evidence about what they are ranting about? The words of marginalisation and discrimination have hit the fan again.

While I do agree that no government is perfect, and certainly not the PPP, the opposition must be more careful and responsible in its criticism of the government of the day. Important occasions should not be a sequel to the fore, a licence and liberty to flame out notoriety, to dish out dangerous political insinuations, and to continue the daily fix of vitriol. To demonize and engender contempt among their followers against others in a thrust for power and domination for themselves is not only worrisome but a missed opportunity to go beyond the rhetoric and sensitise your followers about the truth abridged by fait accompli.

Then there is, too, the government bringing itself to the people, dialoguing with them on the ground, in and out of Guyana, demonstrating that it is locally sound, as well as regionally and globally competent in the way of engagement in trade, investment, diplomacy that jells well with good governance. This approach diminishes insularity, impedes divisions, promotes ethnic and regional integration. All this translates into a plan for good politics inclusive of all without neglecting anyone.

I am convinced, two years later, that the current government has the people at heart. Every government has its epoch, its defining period that shapes a nation under its sway, rightly or wrongly so. To the PNC, for example, it is the rigging of elections. To the PPP, it is about transformation that intertwines politics with change to combat all sorts of socio-economic challenges such as oppression and alienation, and in doing so, reforming lives and institutions. I saw this active transformational agenda from 1992 but in this decade, we will witness much more in the domain of raising and advancing an agenda for change to improve the lives of Guyanese amid adversarial elements that would not allow the government to breathe. Guyana needs a united voice for reform and change (lomarsh.roopnarine@jsums.edu).