Dear Editor,
POLITICAL parties are different by virtue of their conditions of emergence, and the social and historical forces upon which their support rests. Most Caribbean political parties emerged out of the struggle for independence.
Most also have deep connections to and are supported by trade unions. While the historical origins of a political party do not per say create path dependence, history does matter. In fact, as I show below, the contemporary foci, practices, and conduct of PPP/C, PNC/R, and AFC are not accidental.

The AFC emerged out of a situation of ‘external guidance,’ and concomitantly, without any social basis in Guyana.
This is why they can’t compete in the LGE. They are the product of mere rhetoric as in the fantastic claim that they are the only multi-racial party in the country. Readers would know that this same claim had previously been made by the WPA, when in fact the modern WPA is purely a party of race-baiting with no chance of ever winning a seat in the National Assembly on its own.
The PNC also emerged out of “external guidance.” The difference with the PNC is that it was delivered during the Cold War, and because of that, no matter how incompetent and dictatorial it became, the providers of “external guidance” kept them in power.

This much occurred to the detriment of Guyana. Moreover, the PNC also developed a one-man strong man party, (some would say charismatic). Mr. Burnham was a “total leader,” meaning that he commanded every, and all aspects, whether party life or state life. He was the “maximum leader” with a political party that directly controlled state institutions, viz, party paramountcy.
The PPP/C developed as a party out of a civic (PAC) culture, while at the same time grounded in the independence movement, the latter itself indivisible from trade unionism and working-class militancy.

Today, we see some connections between their past and the present. The PNC/R is hardly interested in matters of economic and social policy. Could anyone really say what the policies of the PNC/R are regarding agriculture, infrastructure, oil and gas, or education?

Mr. Norton’s press conferences are all about obstructionism, for instance, attempting to prevent the Local Government Elections.
Instead of engagement with macro-economic policies, and economic issues such as labor shortage, PNC/R leader Aubrey Norton is all about race, and only about race. Nothing else matters. Consistent with its origins, the PNC/R is more about grabbing and holding on to state power for the sake of it.
The AFC is worse than the PNC/R because like the WPA, it is leaderless. It is never engaged in policy discussions. When last did the AFC speak on public policy issue? Most of their commentary utterances are taken from the letter sections of two newspapers that are known to be PPP/C.

The PPP/C, on the other hand, is steeped in substantive policy engagement with regular press-conferences, outreaches, public policy statements, and regular updates from the Department of Public Information. President Ali is quickly earning the reputation of the president who does not rest, a kind of twenty-four hour ‘workhorse.’ He is always on the move, if not in Guyana, then in the international arena.
General Secretary (and Vice President) Bharrat Jagdeo is the quintessential ‘policy wonk,’ to borrow an American expression. As General Secretary, Jagdeo hosts a press conference every Thursday at the PPP headquarters.

Although he speaks a great deal about party issues and political matters, he does address public policy issues at length. These press conferences are usually over two hours, and Jagdeo answers every question in detail.
Of recent, both President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo have addressed policy issues including but not restricted to biometrics, campaign finance, the integrity of local government elections, the Wales gas project, the reconfigured PSAs for future oil and gas partnerships, food security, GOAL scholarships, part-time employment, the challenges of labor shortage, the Local Content Act, issues related to “unlimited parent company guarantee” by Exxon, and most recently the devastating fire at Mahdia.

President Ali has been directly involved (and in person) with providing relief, assistance, and care for the patients and for families who lost their children in the fire set by a teenager.
The engagement with public policy issues by President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo are invariably situated in the larger development framework of the LCDS 2030.
The central focus of the 2030 vision is to pursue environmentally sound development with continuing diversification of the economic base of the country. The regional 25/25 food security policy is a good case in point because it speaks to a specific strategy of warding off threats of the “resource curse” and “Dutch disease.”

The ART-TREES deal between Guyana and Hess Corporation is another instance of pursuing environmentally sound policies, while diversifying our sources of foreign exchange.
The PPP/C Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 is also geared towards the economic transformation of Guyana. The policies pursued under LCDS 2030 have been positively reviewed.
Only yesterday, (SN, 1/6/2023), the past president of the Caribbean Development Bank noted that “[a]ll things considered: Guyana is on the right path to economic transformation.” Professor Bourne specifically noted that “[t]he importance of the massive investment programme currently being undertaken in economic and social infrastructure cannot be overstated as a fundamental component of a holistic programme for Guyana’s economic transformation.”
There are huge infrastructure and human capital challenges in Guyana, but according to Dr. Bourne “[t]he production and marketing of its offshore energy resources enables Guyana to finance its economic transformation at a rate previously unimagined. Revenues derived directly from the oil industry has substantially augmented fiscal resources.”
Sincerely
Dr. Randolph Persaud