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The A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) and the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) are holding a rally this afternoon at Burnham Court, Middle and Carmichael Streets, Georgetown.
The event is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. Rallying against the “high cost of living, corruption and extra judicial killing,” Dr. David Hinds, one of the main speakers, said the rally will be sending a strong message to the Irfaan Ali government, the international community, civil society and everyone, near and far, that Guyana cannot continue with business as usual. “Things are very bad, and we must speak out about what is affecting us and demand change.”
Hinds said the decision to hold the rally came out of an initiative by the political parties to confront the excesses of government. The WPA, which has withdrawn from the APNU, he said, recognises the APNU+AFC as an electoral outfit and therefore not the kind of outfit geared towards fighting the day-to-day excesses of the government but more geared towards the parliamentary fight.
Sittings in the National Assembly have been infrequent and sporadic, rendering Guyana’s highest decision-making forum almost mute. The government is usually responsible for determining when sitting will be held.
Hinds pointed out that one of the objectives of the joint opposition is to respond to the cries of supporters and to be seen as actively dealing with the day-to-day oppression they are suffering under the Ali government. Noting the symbolism of the date, Hinds said, “We are aware supporters are saying we want ‘boots on the ground’ and out of consideration of this factor decided on the second anniversary of the installation of the government to send a clear signal on behalf of supporters and to the community that thinks we have deserted them in the last two years.”
Bemoaning what he described as the breakdown in the “democratic system,” Hinds declared extrajudicial killings have returned with a vengeance and have become normative under successive PPP/C governments. “The politicisation of the police force is a reflection that there is a breakdown of the doctrine of separation of power between the government and law enforcement.”
The entire management of the state has become corrupt, the distribution of state’s resources no longer go through due process, no longer through the agencies of government, and the president and vice president think it is acceptable to just show up and share out taxpayers’ money without regard for established institutions, said Hinds. “That type of government activity is client-ism where people become clients and shows a clear breakdown of governance in the economic sector.”
The government has been ridiculed by the APNU+AFC and civil society for distributing cash grants, in various forms, and also financial compensation without going through the normal procedure. Last year the Opposition made a call to the Auditor General’s Office to audit the $25,000 cash grant that was supposed to be given to each adult but has since become ensnared in allegations of discrimination and many still to receive their money evident by the pink slips in their possession.
Cost of living is another bugbear, said Hinds. The biggest reflection which shows democracy and the government systems are broken down. “Guyana is ranked one of the fastest growing economies, yet everything has increased. The ordinary working people cannot buy the same things with their dollar as they bought two years ago. Cost of living is so high it means we have to deal with our children not going to school because their parents cannot afford to buy basic necessities to send them or need them to sell to supplement the family’s income.”
Things are bad, really bad said Hinds and where the government is not listening to the people the people will have to raise their voices because governments concede nothing without demand.
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