Renting political support

Monday was Nomination Day for the Local Government Elections. Despite their concerns over the voters’ list the political opposition submitted lists of candidates for some of the local government areas.

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, up until Monday, was non-committal about contesting the elections. But he did say that his party was not prepared to surrender its strongholds to the ruling People’s Progressive Party.

Yet this seems to be the case at Lethem which A Partnership for National Unity controlled. A list of candidates was not submitted. The matter is with the Guyana Elections Commission.

Not surprising, when news that a list was not submitted for Lethem people within the People’s National Congress began to voice their discontent with the party. There was a most vehement attack on Norton. Incidents like this have sparked talk about disunity within the opposition.

There has always been disunity within a party after it loses an election. Some say teeth and tongue must bite. But at first glance there seems to be more than biting. There appears to be some people who once supported the PNC now joining the ranks of the PPP.

But even these people are not considered cause for concern in some quarters. Some of them were marginal within the party. What appears to be of greater concern is the movement among the people at the lower level. These are the people who, try as they might, cannot eke out a living in this society.

Some probably never voted in any elections but on Monday there they were with red jerseys. They were attracted by something. Norton, perhaps after an investigation, concluded that many were paid to wear the red jerseys. The photo opportunity would have been too good for the ruling party to miss.

Lo and behold. President Irfaan Ali began to preach about disrespect to suggest that the government was buying Black people. He said that Black people stopped being bought when slavery ended. That kind of purchase led to permanent ownership.

They are being rented these days. This form of buying is akin to prostitution. Those who know the streets will get the picture. You pay your money, and you get the man or woman, depending on your preference and for the reason you seek. I suppose that is where the term political prostitutes come from.

I know that the PPP has an aggressive recruitment policy. I remember Minister Juan Edghill telling a crowd that if they want to see development in Georgetown then they must vote PPP.

There have been Black women who were told that they should join the PPP if they want to access grants. Others were granted road cleaning contracts. The fact that they got a few dollars must have encouraged them to don red jerseys. They believe that they would get continuous contracts.

But not all of them in the red jerseys were bought. Some of them ran into the PPP begging to be accepted. Back in 1992, there was a man who owned a hotel on Princes Street and a business place at the corner of Camp and Robb Streets.

He too wanted money so he raced to embrace the late Dr Cheddi Jagan. He said as much to me. He died before he could get the holy grail. The grail was too long in coming.

President Ali keeps saying that Guyana is a democracy. It is a country for all. So, why would he refuse to talk to the representatives of the people, particularly Black people? He blew his top when someone said that Mocha was controlled by the Coalition. Nobody controls anyone these days, he said.

But Clement Rohee spoke of control. Not a word was said. And to listen to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo one would get another impression.

Just the other day, he said that the PNCR was using Glenn Lall to get Indian votes. The insinuation is clear. Indian votes are his votes. His comment did not stop at using Glenn Lall to get votes. He was specific. Indian votes.

And why would President Ali target the organization created to represent the interests of Black people? He halted the subvention and had to be taken to court. The matter was to have been resolved through mediation. It never was.

The organisation, IDPADA-G, had tried repeatedly to get a meeting with the President or a representative. The meeting never happened because the requests were never acknowledged.

So even before the issue is resolved the ploy to divide and conquer was put into effect. Attorney General Anil Nandlall announced that the government would be paying monies directly to 55 groups that are part of the wider body—IDPADA-G.

Could that be considered buying people? Or is it a case of telling people that they do not need an umbrella organisation?

This is not far removed from the days when troublemakers were paid to picket opposition installations. Many of the protesters couldn’t say why they were protesting. There were many laughs when they had to report to collect the promised $5,000.

The people were bought. The government has an offer and poor people simply can’t resist.

But assuming that the defections are genuine, what can these people really expect? I have seen many cases of them being discarded after a while. A senior University of Guyana lecturer once said to me that the PPP has a way of using you then spitting you out when you are no longer of any use.

I have seen how the PPP deals with people who defected from its ranks. There was no forgiveness.

So when President Ali speaks of people being free to associate with whichever political party he or she chooses, he knows that he is not being serious.