By GHK Lall- If there were only a few in the People’s Progressive Party, I urge the Guyanese people to think of how much better as a party the PPP would be. I start with 10 in the Central Executive, the 10 that made the cut into the cabinet, and I cannot help but map out how much of a different Guyana there could be. Ten only that are supremely honest, totally devoted to moral and ethical imperatives, would be all that it takes for a better PPP and a different Guyana.
Some numerical blend of men and women of reasonable principle, who possess the kind of backbone that this society needs, the intellectual cleanliness so urgently needed in party, government, and country. Because this means so much to me, to Guyana, and due to an expansive frame of mind, even as few as five could help. Only five in the PPP cut from a different cloth. Courage. Integrity. Self-respect. Is there five in the PPP-party or government-that have what it takes to swing this country and its peoples towards a straight road? To what is truly about clean governance? For what there would never be any question, any doubt, about the caliber of leadership that Guyanese have? Five is all I ask. Where are they?
Dr. Terrence Campbell got me thinking, led me to raising these questions, having this conversation with citizens, with many in the government who cannot help but to read. He thought that A New and United Guyana (ANUG) offered a promising beginning. Then he didn’t. When he left, he made sure that everyone knew why. Nothing sneaky, no slithering around in the deep grass like a snake that fears the light, the heat it delivers. This is where I have a concern. This is why I must go my own way. A man after my own heart, a kindred soul. He did the same at the Natural Resources Fund, rocked that placid, porous boat.
He enlightened Guyanese what they were getting for stewardship. It isn’t anything to celebrate; it is what Guyanese should mourn. Largely, it’s just another layer of the two-faced, two-bit, two-timing representation that the people of this country get, while remaining in the darkness of ignorance, and thinking that nobility and commitment to duty reign. A firestorm resulted, with dirty deeds done by a vengeful PPP machinery, from heads to hooligans. See what I mean, when I regret having to lament, if there were only 10, and because the situation is so critical, then a mere 5 would have to work.
When decency was needed inside the PPP Government to serve as a restraining force, it was found not to have been spawned, as yet. Vitriol and venom rained. Decency in government is a low priority; integrity is lower than low. How I yearn for a bloc in the PPP to assert itself, and en masse say: this shall not be.
When the opposition, with which he has some linkage, is struggling to be one body, speak with one voice, Campbell made sure that the world knew that it was not so. Fragments and factions. A united front sometimes looks doable, as in being in hand; then, it looks as remote and as daunting as distant Mt Everest. His friends in that circle cannot be inspired by his frankness, and in the public domain to boot. But, oftentimes, a few men just have to be how they have been made.
Like the PPP, if only the PNC could boast of a few good men, stalwart women, and just 10 is what would be a source of inspiration. A force for a makeover, a presence for all that has been neglected, all that should be high priorities. Since 10 could prove to be out of reach, then 5 bright lights, clean lights, and true lights (to Guyana) could be the difference makers sought. Are they there, or are they not?
I study a land that produced the likes of Critchlow, Jagan, Burnham; then a diaspora that is a country by itself; and global ambassadors (not the whiskey swilling and money-grubbing kind) that speak of a place that has more than sterling roots. It has (or had) a quality pedigree. With this as history, surely this country still has a few honorable people left? Just the right number to help it emerge from the present darkness, and ride the wave to the heights.
Ten is all I seek in either the PPP or PNC, and there is a sense of impending failure. Something tells me that my fate is sealed, and so is this country’s, because even as minute a number as five authentically wholesome patriots may just be out of reach.
What has happened to this country when it is piloted by men made of lard and sand that binds to nothing? What will be its fate? A society of serfs by the hand of outsiders is already part of a searing reality that withstands any argument. A concentration camp is what is feared, compliments of one set of Guyanese to the rest. I am still searching for that 10. Since beggars can’t be choosers, like Dave Brubeck, I’ll take five.
