President Donald Ramotar, in a feature article published in this newspaper last Monday, chastised Guyana’s political Opposition for its blatant anti-national and anti-developmental thrust, accusing it of deliberately trying to sabotage the development of the country and the bright future of the Guyanese citizens.He also lamented the fact that the combined Opposition, comprising the APNU and AFC, would not yield to reason or allow better sense to prevail in allowing for the passage of the crucial Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill, in order for Guyana to avoid becoming internationally blacklisted.
“The Opposition simply does not care about the dire consequences its callous and vindictive actions will have on Guyana and the future of our citizens…,” the President told this newspaper’s Editor in an invited comment.
“The Opposition is blatantly pursuing an anti-national and anti-developmental agenda, one that is obviously aimed at destabilising the country and sabotaging the future of our people,” the President declared.
To add credence to his accusations, President Ramotar pointed to several huge developmental projects that have major transformational benefits for the Guyanese people, all of which are aimed at catapulting the country further along its unwavering growth trajectory.
But President Ramotar has been in the socio-political fray for decades, and should by now recognise ‘the nature of the beast’, and he should be cognisant of the fact that the PNC’s track record in this country has always been one of visiting mayhem, destruction and economic debilitation upon Guyana, with no remorse or mercy, even for the people who voted for them, and a visit to the epoch of their stewardship of Guyana should be a reminder to the President, if indeed he needs one, that the beast is accustomed to devouring the nation.
Even now, clothed as it is in its new configuration as APNU, with the AFC hanging on to its coat-tails for some relevance, the PNC has not achieved a new avtaar with its name change.
The older folks can easily recall the general decay and malaise in the country during the PNC era in Government, for which that party was directly responsible. As the saying goes, a rose by any other name is still a rose; but roses provide pleasure at every level, and in no way ‘encounters with this particular beast’ can be described as pleasurable. And a skunk renamed still has a stench that is so odiferous that it becomes ineradicable.
So, Mr. President, why lament because the beast is running true to form and visiting devastation in the land? Why have expectations of progressive, patriotic actions when you are fully aware of the nature of the beast?