OPINION:Bad-old neon light days in Guyana are gone

Last Updated on Friday, 23 February 2024, 6:40 by Denis Chabrol

By Dr. Randy Persaud, Professor Emeritus

Back in the mid-1970s there were still some functional traffic lights in Georgetown. I distinctly recall the one at Main and Church Streets, just by the Bank of Guyana and the National Library. The one at Lamaha and Camp Streets also stand out. Then bit by bit, all the lights went out. There was not a single traffic light in the entire country. And while there may have been a neon light on Robb Street that survived, these 83,000 square miles fell into darkness, both literally and metaphorically.

By 1980, that is, seven years after the 1973 rigged election, two years after the rigged referendum of 1978, and the same year in which party paramountcy was constitutionalized, this country fell into a long, lonely, and debilitating isolation which it did not escape from for more than a decade. That was 1992.

During the time of the neon lights on Robb Street so romantically captured in Stabroek News’ editorial (2/21/2024), Guyana descended into a country of immense suffering. Governance became the personal preserve of Forbes Burnham and the PNC. He directly controlled the Police, Judicial, and the Public and Teaching Services Commissions. The state controlled 80% of the economy, and paramilitary organization linked the PNC were abounded. Private goon squads roamed the streets, and state-sponsored violence, including assassinations were always lurking around the corner.

The kind of governance during those years of the Robb Street neon lights, everything disappeared from the shelves – food stuff, toiletries, building materials, medical supplies, books, school supplies, tools, electrical equipment of all kinds. The PNC even controlled a bizarre outlet called the Knowledge Sharing Institute (KSI) where they sold groceries mostly to party comrades. No PNC card, no cooking oil.

Unemployment was more than 40%. To get a job, you needed a party card. To stay on the job, you had to attend PNC rallies. If you were a teacher that attend a pro-democracy (PPP or later WPA) protest, you were deported to the hinterland, a form of political exile because of separation from family. It was worse for sugar workers. It took GAWU nearly two decades to be recognized. The PNC affiliated unions were, but part of the state apparatus. The PNC flag flew over the Court of Appeal, Eve Leary, and numerous other state institutions. PNC staff were placed at all ministries and state agencies to monitor possible resistance to the dictatorship or even ‘bad’ thoughts.

You will note that all these things have basically been acknowledged by top PNC people. Former PNC General Secretary, Hamilton Green, who was also a senior Cabinet Minister and Prime Minister, only days ago admitted that the PNC rigged elections. Worse yet, he called for more rigging. Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, for his part, recently implied that if they ever get back in office, they will revert to the exclusionary staffing practices prevalent during those neon light days of repression.

The editorial under consideration glorifies the PNC past. It then moves on to vilify the current situation in Guyana, implying that we are under some kind of Putin-style authoritarianism. Its entire case is based on the Ministry of Education’s enforcement of rules for participating in a competition. While we understand that Calypso is a form of critical engagement, we must also understand that children should not be roped in to serve political purposes. Some might even argue that a six-year-old singing about the political economy of state finance must be the result of coercion.

Stabroek News is clearly a supporter of the GTU strike which is an APNU-AFC linked union. Coretta McDonald, who is the figurehead of the teachers’ strike is an APNU Member of Parliament. She has made it clear that the strike has political objectives. She even went so far as to imply that the strike has a “corporate sponsor.” They have also called for the strike to be generalized. What more do you need to determine that this is a political strike?

In the meantime, right under the noses of the critics is one of the biggest energy and supply chain conferences in the world. Delegates from 38 countries are here. Sponsors include some of the biggest global brands as well as some of the most promising new ventures including, but not limited to – ExxonMobil, Go Logistics, gtt Business Solutions, CNOOC, Hess, Digicel Business, Blue Water Shipping, Oando, National Energy of T&T, Baker Hughes, Cave Holdings Guyana Inc., Championx, Noble, C.S. World Cargo, INNOVEX, SAIPEM, ZARA, EXPRO, SLB, Stena Drilling, Copa Airlines, TechnipFMC, Respol, SBN Offshore, Halliburton, Scotiabank, Guyana Oil & Gas Support Services.

While Stabroek News is mired in a narrative of gloom, distinguished leaders from around the world are here to participate in the forward movement of development. Among them are – The Prime Minister of Qatar, President of Suriname, Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Prime Minister of Bahamas, Secretary General of CARICOM, the US Ambassador to Guyana, British High Commissioner to Guyana, and numerous local and foreign corporate leaders, GoG Cabinet Ministers and heads of government agencies, and last but not least, academic specialists from a range of disciplines including energy, logistics, climate change, AI, and agriculture.

Stabroek News ought to understand that the children in schools today will be the primary beneficiaries of the transformational development underway. For that reason alone, the teachers ought to get back into the classrooms. They should also make full use of GOAL Scholarships, preferred access to housing, and teaching training opportunities. The bad-old days symbolized by the lone neon light is gone.

Dr. Randy Persaud is Adviser, International Affairs, Office of the President, Guyana.