THE political opposition is continuing to peddle its false and misleading narrative of being cheated out of office in the March 20, 2020 General and Regional Elections, despite the fact that the entire world knew otherwise. And as if that were not enough, it has been trying desperately to ‘convince’ the international community that the democratically elected PPP/C administration is practising political and racial discrimination against its supporters, more particularly the Afro-Guyanese segment of the population.
Nothing could be further from the truth! As to be expected, this deliberate smear campaign by the political opposition has been condemned by the PPP/C administration, which, in a recent statement emanating from the Office of the Prime Minister categorically rejected the unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations made by misguided elements by way of a petition in support of misleading statements by a recent Opposition delegation to Washington.
According to the release, “the Government categorically rejects the claims made in the petition, dated September 24, 2023 in support of the Washington Diaspora Conference as an unpatriotic attempt by the opposition APNU+AFC to undermine the Government’s commitment to the betterment of Guyana. It is evident that the document in question is engineered by the Opposition APNU+AFC, and is designed to present a one-sided perspective that does not accurately represent the actions and policies of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government of Guyana.”
The PPP/C has been highly even-handed in the manner it is treating with the Guyanese people, regardless of ethnicity or political affiliation. This is manifested in all facets of national life, such as access to government jobs, access to educational opportunities, access to housing, and in the delivery of social services.
For the political opposition to accuse the PPP/C of discriminatory policies is, at best, dishonest, and at worst an attempt to sow the seeds of division and discord in a country that is now making steady progress in the direction of inclusivity, social cohesion and national integration.
The political opposition does have a role to play in terms of holding the government accountable, and in the articulation of issues of national importance. But to deliberately attempt to sow division in the society along ethnic lines is completely at odds with the norms of responsible political behaviour, and, for that matter, basic civility.
In setting the record straight, the PPP/C administration made its position clear that it views the Opposition-orchestrated petition as ‘regressive, mischievous and unpatriotic. It appears to be a thinly-veiled attempt to undermine the universally unifying work that successive PPP/C administrations have undertaken, and President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has been vigorously advancing since his assumption of office in 2020 to transform the socio-economic construct of Guyana, and foster an environment where every creed or class has an equal place.’
The fact of the matter is that despite the efforts of the PPP/C administration to foster a climate of peace and national reconciliation, it is the political opposition that has been setting up road blocks all along the way. In this regard, several attempts by President Ali to reach out to the Leader of the Opposition have been greeted with skepticism, if not rebuff. The Opposition APNU+AFC continues to refer to the PPP/C administration as an ‘installed regime’ despite its legitimate and internationally-recognised democratic credentials.
The political opposition has been unable to provide any credible and substantiated evidence of any discriminatory policies by the PPP/C administration towards any ethnic group, other than vague and hasty generalisations which have absolutely no bearing with objective realities. This must be a source of embarrassment to the political opposition during its engagements with United States Congressional leaders and members of the diaspora.
As pointed out by Guyana’s Prime Minister in a recent statement, ‘claims that African Guyanese face hostility and repression are unequivocally false. Guyana’s political landscape is diverse, with multiple parties and organisations representing various interests, including African Guyanese. These organisations have been welcomed to engage in the Government’s consultative processes to address community concerns with ample mechanisms provided for facilitation of such engagements, notwithstanding the approach of regular direct grassroots engagement of the citizenry by the President and his Cabinet’.
Despite attempts by the political opposition to vilify the PPP/C administration, the truth is that Guyana is firmly on the road to economic and social progress, where every Guyanese is provided with an equal opportunity to develop to the full limit of their potential. The Government is committed to its ‘One Guyana’ policy, as it seeks to create an environment of inclusivity, unity and equal opportunities for all.
The doors to constructive dialogue remain open. The political opposition has a national duty to rise above narrow partisan thinking, and place the country’s interests first. Despite the rapid modernisation processes currently underway, there are still challenges to our sovereignty and territorial integrity that require the support of all Guyanese right across the political and ethnic spectrum.
In this regard, the position taken by the political opposition on threats to our sovereignty by Venezuela is encouraging. It is time for the political opposition to now come on board in support of the call for a united Guyana along the visionary lines of ‘One Guyana’ as conceptualised by President Ali.