There is a saying that the only thing constant is change itself. Another says that the more things change, the more they remain the same. The second is more difficult to understand.
In the real world people change governments but rarely do they change their fortunes. In Guyana the economy has changed. The discovery of oil offshore provided the kind of money Guyana never saw. But the change in the economy has not resulted in a change in the plight of the people. The vast majority still remain poor.
This is something that the wider society simply cannot understand. There is always the case of Trinidad with a population more than twice that of Guyana. Trinidad struck oil in quantities far smaller than Guyana has.
However, what its government did with the oil resources transformed the society to the point that the average man enjoyed a life that most in other countries can only imagine. It was expected that the same thing would have happened in Guyana.
Sadly, that is not the case. People still go to bed hungry in Guyana. Global statistics place the poverty rate at some 45 per cent.
Change has not come to Guyana. The People’s National Congress Reform needed to change to keep and to attract young people. It didn’t. The results of the 2025 elections revealed its need to change. The result is that the party secured the lowest ever number of seats in the National Assembly in its seventy-year history.
The party is now rebuilding. It has recognised the need for change. It has gone back to the drawing board, in the process, reviewing its past policies and making the needed adjustments.
One of those changes must be to re-establish the party groups and the youth groups that formed the base of the party. There will be a lot of foot-slogging.
The change also includes fortifying the coffers of the party. Money played a significant role in the last elections. In the past the party had charismatic leaders who appealed to the senses of the people.
Today, there are no charismatic leaders. These have been replaced by the people who can promise the starving masses the most.
Gone are the days when voluntary party work was seen as the key to success. Today, unless there is money to pay the volunteers, nothing gets done.
The PNCR recognises this and has therefore set about amassing funds to pay the people who were once volunteers.
In the run-up to the last elections people saw photographs of strange people in political gatherings. All were paid to make those appearances. They had to wear jerseys and hats. In the package containing the jerseys and hats were sums of cash.
There were those who were promised contracts if they displayed their support for the ruling party.
The PNCR could not match such largesse. The consequences have been revealed with stark clarity. The group that would embark on the rehabilitation would be taking these things into consideration.
Of course, it goes without saying that the PNCR can in no way match the government who has public funds at its disposal. This too will be taken into consideration.
The Anglican church is also in need of drastic change. Over the years it has been witnessing a steady decline in its congregation. Where pews were filled has been replaced by empty spaces.
Priests are leaving in droves. Bishop Charles Davidson is presiding over the decline in the Anglican church. He is being accused of causing priests to leave. Since his ordination in March 2016 no fewer than eight priests have been removed or transferred. Some have simply packed up and left.
Bishop Davidson must be in love with Frank Sinatra’s My Way. He has been quoted as saying that once he remains at the helm of the Anglican church in Guyana things will be done his way or no way.
He reportedly forbade priests from undertaking jobs outside the priesthood even as the salary is a mere $90,000 per month. At least one priest has defied him.
Pentecostal churches recognized the need for up tempo music. If truth be told, the hymns being sung in the Anglican churches were pop tunes of nearly 200 years ago. The music needs to change if it is to attract young membership.
The Pentecostal churches have introduced bands into the church. Their population is bursting at the seams. The young people leave feeling uplifted. The dreary hymns in the Anglican church merely add to the depression of those who enter its walls.
Nearly fifty years ago the Anglican churches in Jamaica moved to change the music with success in the increase in membership. Pastors and performers who promote up tempo music are in demand.
The Anglican church in Guyana under the present bishop is stuck in the past with dire consequences. St George’s Anglican, the mecca of Anglican churches in Guyana is a shell of its former glory.
There have been moves in some parishes to invite pastors from other churches with messages that can resonate with the congregation. Bishop Davidson says that such a thing will not happen in his church.
Anyone who declines to be challenged has some form of complex. It could be that Bishop Davidson is afraid to be confronted or wary of anyone who dares to question him.
Any bishop would like to see a growing congregation. If changes will facilitate that growing congregation then changes should be embraced. Parishioners cannot understand the shortage of priests when some young people have put up their hands.
Bishop Davidson has ignored them so far.
There is an archbishop who is in Belize but he generally leaves things to the individual countries. He may be consigning Guyana to the dustbins of history.
