Dear Editor,
Why is it that some people are of the false notion that Mr Aubrey Norton, as the Leader of the PNC, will herald a metamorphosis that has eluded the Party for more than half a century?
Let us rewind a bit. The PNC was formed in 1957 with LFS Burnham as the leader. It could only have won 11 seats in the 1961 Elections, but in 1964, it was able to form its first Coalition Government with the United Force Party. This unholy alliance was formed to oust the PPP, since it was clear that the PNC by itself would never be able to win an election. But the Coalition soon disintegrated, and in 1968, Forbes Burnham saw that the only way the PNC could hang on to power was to rig the elections, which it did until democracy returned to Guyana in 1992.
Over the years, the PNC, though it had undergone some label changes and leadership trials, had failed to change its corrupt and rigging psyche. During the period 1964 to 1992, Guyanese witnessed a sharp descent into the abyss of dictatorship, resulting in devastating social and economic degradation. This period, referred to as the ‘28 years of PNC dictatorship’, caused Guyanese to flee in numbers to all parts of the world.
After Burnham’s demise, nothing changed until the Hoyte Administration was forced by threats to be under the economic guillotine that they agreed to install the mechanisms for free and fair elections.
The PNC was never a responsible Opposition, and never displayed any level of patriotism. Its leaders were simply interested in power at all cost. It did everything in its power to make Guyana ungovernable under the PPP: there were violent street protests, burning and looting and rape and murder. They stopped at nothing, and they carried out an open ethnic cleansing which targeted Indo-Guyanese. The PNC has a new leader, but, from past experience, the innate mentality of the old PNC will remain unchanged.
Guyanese have witnessed that after the demise of the maximum leader Forbes Burnham and the taking up of the leadership of the PNC by the late Desmond Hoyte, nothing changed, and in fact the rigging got worse, and after the return to democracy in 1992, the PNC embarked on a journey of ‘mo fya slow fya’.
Then, in 2002, Hoyte died, and the leadership was passed on to Robert Corbin, and the ‘mo fya slow fya’ mantra continued wreaking havoc to the country. This was the new dispensation, and it continued with each and every General Election which the PPP/C won.
The Party’s leadership changed again in 2012, and Granger took over the helm.
Unfortunately, despite great expectations, the old PNC terror tactics went unabated. Some had thought that Granger would make a difference if he became the President. This was wishful thinking. Mr Granger, as President, disregarded the Supreme Law of the land and began to remodel Guyana on the path back to Burnhamism. In addition, the corruption and cronyism experienced during the 28 years began in earnest after just a few months in Government, and it was only a matter of time before the Treasury was emptied and the reserves depleted.
Then the No Confidence Motion (NCM) in 2018 precipitated the downfall of the PNC-dominated Coalition in the 2020 General Elections, but not after many frivolous, vexatious and costly court cases to overthrow the NCM. However, after 5 months of relentless attempts to rig the 2020 Elections in plain sight, the PPP/C Government came in to power.
It must be noted that after every failure to win an Election, the leadership of the PNC is questioned and comes under scrutiny. The membership wanted a resurrection of the late dictator L.F.S Burnham, who ensured that the rigging machinery was on full throttle all the time. The late Hoyte was lambasted as being ‘too soft’, and was censured for allowing free and fair elections, and Corbin was condemned for his inability to wrest power from the PPP.
The latest victim was Granger, even though he tried his utmost to hang on to power by trying various rigging tactic. He lost.
Now the PNC needs a leadership which can propel them into Government regardless of what it costs. The end will justify the means. It is now expected that Norton would once again ignite the old PNC modus operandi and wrest power at any cost.
In conclusion, the PNC cannot be trusted. Some Guyanese were misled in 2015 with false promises to believe that the PNC and the AFC together can bring about a better life for Guyanese. This never materialised. It was corruption galore. Guyanese saw this first hand, and they suffered from severe economic hardships. They also witnessed the rigging propensity and the inherent evil of the PNC live and direct. No Coalition was ever good for this country. The PPP/C has once again, in just a year, charted a progressive trajectory and the lives of Guyanese are improving daily.
No more will Guyanese believe the lies peddled by the PNC and the AFC. The leopard will never change its spots, and the PNC will never change despite the changing of the leader.
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
