THERE is a huge law in psychology that says people learn from experience. There is no way you are going to cuss down the station officer after you were nearly arrested the last time. No way, you are going to shout on the teller if the manager warns you that next time the bank is going to close your account. No way, you are going to insult the teacher if the school tells you about another act like that and your child will be expelled.
These are the things that count in life. These are life’s experiences that lie at the foundation of life. People learn from them. If you cannot learn from these essential lessons of human existence, then you are going nowhere. Guyana has a school of opposition politicians whose mentality and temperament are inexplicable.
They never seem to learn from their mistakes and if they do not, this country is going to have the Barbados syndrome where the electorate rejects the opposition party in its entirety, and it gets no seats during electoral competition. Prior to a very unprincipled thing Ganesh Mahipal did to me, for two persons whose politics are diametrically opposed to each other, we shared a very cordial and pleasant, relation. There are times I would proffer snippets of advice to Ganesh. I have known him for a long time.
Ganesh was the guest four times, including days before the 2025 elections on the Freddie Kissoon Show. The co-hosts have never laid down a line he cannot cross (save for libel and cussing down) while he was being interviewed. Then a few weeks ago, Leonard Craig and I called him on a remark he had made. I am discussing this Mahipal descent for the second time because after what Amanza Walton-Desir told me, I believe its repetition is important for people who are supporters of the opposition to know. As I noted in my reply to Nigel Wetmaas, “repetitions reinforce the point.”
Mahipal advised two journalists who host a state programme on which guests are interviewed that their format must involve opposition politicians. He went on to add that all voices across the political spectrum must be given a platform. He suggested that the two journalists must follow the format of interview programmes such as “Sources,” “Context,” “Credible Sources.”
There is one despicable trait in what Mahipal said and another despicable trait in what he did not say. First, none of those programmes Mahipal cited are known for giving space to the PPP leaders and Ministers of Government. The atrocity in what he did not say lies in the fact that he deliberately shut out the Freddie Kissoon Show that divides its guests equally, not almost equally, but equally between pro-government personalities and anti-government opinion-makers. Ganesh appeared four times on the show.
Do you think Mahipal simply forgot to mention the only talk show that is sympathetic to the government but allows opposition equal time? The answer is no. Mahipal deliberately chose not to mention the Freddie Kissoon Show. This political dishonesty came long after the 2025 elections results. The point is people like Mahipal are sadly hopeless. They do not learn from life’s experiences.
Do you think people reading this will be easily fooled? But that is the psychological deception Mahipal, Vincent Alexander, David Hinds and so many of them live with. They sprout the most pathetic deceptions and seriously think people do not see through them.
The result is the electoral devastation of 2025.WIN took seats and votes from the PNC and reduced the APNU+AFC hold of 31 seats to 12. WIN secured 16 seats and none of them according to the GECOM database showed they came from defeats in PPP constituencies. Could this have been prevented? Any analyst who has even a modicum of competence would know that the electorate rejected the PNC because voters felt they had no credibility. Would people believe Mahipal if he should tell them he forgot to mention the Freddie Kissoon Show?
Finally, Amanza-Walton Desir. She met me at the funeral of Rupert Roopnaraine and denounced what I wrote about her and advised me the next time I should consult her before I write about her. But she is in hiding. Even a “mango pelter” has the feature of “missed calls.” I called her about 10 times. The number on her phone shows up as mine, and she doesn’t answer.
It is either the anti-government people are inexplicable folks or they are silly people. One thing is certain: if they keep behaving like that, Guyana is going to see an election in which the PPP will get 65 seats, and the opposition will fail to get even one. It happened twice in CARICOM; I guess some people never learn from life’s rich experiences.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
