“If there is one thing the recent experiences have taught, is that one government or one party alone, cannot effectively rule Guyana.” This was recently conveyed by the former Natural Resources Minister, and Alliance for Change Executive Member, Raphael Trotman.
The former Speaker of the House contended that once other groups, and their leaders, feel ostracised and left out, targeted and hounded, then governance will be a challenge and will grow increasingly difficult.
He asserted: “no amount of money and good-will, thrown at the problem, will bring relief, and in fact, the opposite is expected. As Guyana’s economy rapidly expands thousands pour over our borders, as tens of thousands of supporters of the APNU and AFC continue to feel uninvited to participate, equally and unconditionally, as Guyanese, then the legitimacy that the PPP so desperately craves will remain a pipe dream. We are a people comprising several nations – living in a geographic space we call a country.”
He added that those living in Guyana, or living in similarly polarised countries, who have studied this phenomenon, know that at any given time one, and perhaps two of the several nations will not like another, accept another, or give the other the legitimacy it needs and deserves to effectively govern.
He said that the People’s National Congress (PNCR) discovered this from 1966 to 1992, the PPP from 2015, and the APNU+AFC, from 2015-2020.
“It doesn’t matter how good and noble your intentions are, or how many kilometres of roads you have created or repaired, or houses built. What it comes down to is that a large section, almost half of the population, will not accept you, believe your motives to be sincere, or give you their trust. Winning razor-thin electoral majorities with cross-over votes will not cut it. Our constitutional framework does not allow for power-sharing and consociational government, but it does demand, in language only, that governance be inclusive,” Trotman said.
He added that a President and government represent, at best, at any given time, no more than 51% of the electorate, and the other 49 to 50% “simply cannot be ignored, bullied or coerced or cajoled”.
“Every President has sought to use his or her office to be a unifier, and it has not worked, but that does not mean that it cannot work. In simple terms, one cannot govern with a ‘winner take all’ mind-set and constitution, while simultaneously, speaking about ‘inclusivity’. The two things are mutually exclusive – like oil and water,” the AFC member concluded.
