THE politics in Guyana is in a terrible state. It does not seem to develop or change with time. The country is moving and growing at a rapid pace, yet still, the politics is the same.
The actors, in the political system, are changing though, but their parties are holding firm to the ideologies of the past, and philosophies that are barely helping Guyana reach its full political potential.

And, unless we could move in a direction of political maturity, Guyana would continue its political deterioration and regression. We could grow and achieve development, through hard work and policy directives, but we would become politically stagnant or stunted. We are not growing as we are still too politically puerile and part of the problem with this is our memories are too short.

Recall, it was former President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who went on record in the early 2000s saying that, in order for Guyana to move swiftly past the political differences, there needs to be a process that could build trust and good faith. He then presented a ‘White Paper’ on the process of building trust in society. It gave way to several Constitutional amendments that sought to create a series of bi-partisan Commissions that sought to protect our people such as the Ethnic Relations Commission, the Rights of Child Commission and the Women and Gender Equality Commission, among others.

Also, the bi-partisan Constitutional Reform Commission came up with many workable solutions to many of the problems that had dogged the governance, political system, and power systems for many years in Guyana. It came to a halt with disagreements after disagreements between the then Parliamentarians and political parties.

We missed the opportunity to really reform and change the constitution at this point in Guyana’s history. We missed a chance at changing the formula that had condemned the country to political savagery and a single winner takes all system. We could not agree on the things that matter then or would matter to us as a nation in the future.

The Opposition People’s National Congress (PNC) and the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) never saw eye to eye again on anything that had to do with politics or governance in Guyana. Again, it played out very similarly to what had occurred between Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham when they parted ways or split in the 1950s.

Throughout the period between 2001 and 2020, Guyana had several missed opportunities to correct its wrongs and faults but it did not because there was political duplicity, double standards, a lack of trust, and widespread suspicion.

The PNC has never changed its true colours and has not entered discussions with the PPP in good faith. There is still no aura of trust in their relations with the PPP at a political or governmental level. The PNC has gotten less diplomatic in its seeming hatred and contempt for the politics of the PPP, so much so, that they attempted to rigg the last election.
The PPP is no saint, here, either. It has committed its own share of political mistakes but, somehow, they are not at a level that would outdo the PNC.

So, this talk and debate about the ‘supermajority’, shared governance, and power sharing are not new. In fact, they are old and very familiar to the old politicians and Guyanese that understand the concepts. One wonders why we need to entertain this very same discussion each time the PPP has won the presidency or executive.

One wonders why it is only the PPP who must share power and not the PNC or APNU or any other political party in the opposition. One even wonders why the proponents of this vision of doom in Guyana’s politics were not bold enough to speak as they are doing now when it was the APNU’s David Granger, Desmond Hoyte or Forbes Burnham in power. One even wonders why this talk about discrimination is even happening this month when we should be taking introspection on our walk towards freedom, emancipation and the challenges of maintaining our mental freedom.
The discussion on sharing Guyana’s wealth and resources would be better served if it is done in a more constructive and objective manner. We must desist from making politics about race, and race about government. We blur the lines each time we heap everything about emancipation, slavery and freedoms with the concept of governance, State resources and the political system. They are interrelated but very different and distinct.

Governing alone, as PPP/C has shown, is not bad. The world is not ending and anarchy has not descended upon Guyana. The government has not collapsed or will collapse. The PPP has brightly gone around the politics to secure Guyana’s development if the opposition politicians are not serious.

Eventually, politics in Guyana will become cyclical if it does not change its paradigm. The same script, but a different cast.