By Leonard Craig
My journey and one reason the AFC will continue its decline under the current leadership

I GREW up and attended school in Region Six. I was drawn to politics from a young age. I read a lot of current affairs and as a youngster, I thought there were enough positives in both Burnham and Jagan to inspire me to want to participate in politics. However, I always knew that I was not going to be part of Burnham’s party. The reason for this is, in the village where I grew up, the local leaders of the PNC in the area were all I knew of the representation of Burnham’s philosophy.

The encounters were never positive. In fact, the negative interaction left dark emotional scars from vindictive experiences meted out to my family. Though these encounters did not relate directly to politics, whenever they speak politically, I didn’t want to hear it. In my head, there is nothing good that can come from ‘those people’.

When I left secondary school, I knew I wanted to be in some form of activism. I was sure I did not want to be part of the PNC. The face of the PPP in our area at the time was Mr. Singh (I am struggling to recall his first name) who became Regional Chairman of Region Six. He was such a ‘PPPite’ they called him Jagan. In contrast, he displayed interpersonal skills that suggested kindness and affability. In these formative years, I did not see race, only personal qualities. I did not know or ever meet Forbes Burnham or Cheddie Jagan. All I had to go on, were the personal encounters with their respective representatives.

Nobody in my immediate or extended family had any political connections or membership that I knew of. So, if I were going to become politically active, I would have to beat my own path.
After secondary school, I wanted to experiment with the PPP. I left my home in Corentyne, I visited Freedom House in Main Street, New Amsterdam. When I got there, I met a gentleman whom I later came to know as Mr. Faizal Jafferally. Let’s just say the encounter was negative enough to be a turnoff and my entry point to the PPP was blunted.

I moved to Georgetown around the time of the split between Desmond Hoyte and Hamilton Green. Around the time of the formation of the Good and Green Guyana (GGG) I thought of joining up but the motivation was not strong enough coupled with the fact that GGG was a Georgetown-based party and my registration was in Berbice. GECOM was not as efficient, as it is now, in effecting transfers in a timely manner.

Essentially, I was left only with desires of being politically active but no real motivation to be part of a specific party. When the idea of a third force got its genesis, circa, 2004 to 2005 I was excited. While the idea was still in its infancy, I reached out to Raphael Trotman who introduced me to the rest of the team. Then when the AFC was officially launched, my activism in politics was birthed, mostly behind the scenes. By this time, I was living in Region Five where I was, in fact, often described to others as “duh AFC man.”

AFC for me represented a mental orgasmic expectation of multiracial politics that will bring Guyana together; a party that will embrace the best and positive attributes of Burnham and Jagan. I was proud to be called “duh AFC man,” I wore it as a badge of honour. When the leaders of the AFC decided to form a partnership with APNU, I was initially skeptical, but as days and weeks proceeded, I became more and more convinced that it could work. I believed that the success of the partnership depended heavily on the behaviour of the AFC.

As soon as the AFC took office it became apparent to me that all the foundations that were being established from the AFC side were being set up for a one term existence. Either their political receptors were shut off, they were self-centred or they were not as politically bright as we once thought.

My own evaluation; it was all of the above. One example that proves my thesis: except for Moses Nagamootoo (who spent time in a PPP government) none of the AFC leaders understood the concept of political quid pro quo. Many persons who slaved for the AFC for years in opposition and others who laid almost all on the line in the 2015 campaign to ensure the success of their party were left on the sidelines when the AFC got into office. Our proportional representation system is largely built on the political spoils system. If you are in politics and you do not understand this most basic and sacred concept, you should not come anywhere close to political leadership. Imagine, between 2015 to 2017 the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Business, Ministry of Tourism/Telecommunication, and Ministry of Amerindian Affairs together could only find one single job for someone from the 2015 campaign structure; that person was a driver. Ministry of Public Security, Natural Resources and Infrastructure together employed about eight persons, mostly as cleaners, security and drivers. Known activists who worked for the campaign were jobless and could hardly provide for their families.

In fact, many AFC members had to approach PNC people to be able to secure jobs. That was the beginning of the end of the AFC. Leaders people once believed in, displayed that they did not care enough about the wellbeing of their members and activists. Despite the rude 2020 awakening, there is nothing in the current behaviour of those who lead the AFC that demonstrates they have an understanding that people other than themselves are meaningful to political growth and that they too must drink at the cistern.