Police Commissioner Leslie James, has once again stated that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has zero tolerance for corruption and warned that ranks found to be involved in corrupt and questionable practices will face the necessary consequences. The Commissioner’s statement comes as the GPF is celebrating its 180th anniversary and some days after Crime Chief Lyndon Alves was sent on administrative leave to facilitate a probe into corruption allegations levelled against him. Several damning allegations against Alves were detailed in the media, and there were several questions raised by various…
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The anatomy of power in Guyana (Part 2)
By Ravi Dev Last week, we discussed the difference between “authority” – which an elected Government gets – and “power”, which depends on the latter’s control of the coercive arms of the state: the army, Police, bureaucracy etc., and certain groups within a society which can exercise “disruptive power”. We posited that in and out of office, the PNC controlled these institutions and it is why there were no effective protests following the firing of 7000 sugar workers, and with the refusal to accept the consequences of the NCM. The…
Read MoreLand distribution in Guyana
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo dropped a bombshell into the political landscape when he revealed that tens of thousands of acres of land had been transferred to persons politically connected to the PNC-led administration. Ironically, these individuals included two very vociferous employees of the State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA), which work out of the Ministry of the Presidency and which have been engaged in a very high profile case alleging that 12 acres of land at Sparendaam had been sold in an opaque fashion to the former President, several Ministers…
Read MoreMaking the best use of time
In a matter of days, another academic school year will come to an end. At the moment, most of the students across Guyana have completed their End-of-Term tests and are awaiting their results. Once this process is completed, schools will be officially closed for an extended period of two months. This means that children will have a lot of time on their hands and should, therefore, be encouraged to utilise this time in a constructive manner. During this period, parents are faced with the challenge of finding activities, whether they…
Read MoreLeadership in a time of crisis
Whenever a country is facing a crisis, the expectation is for the political leadership to buckle down in immediate, genuine and meaningful engagements with the intention of deriving practical solutions. In these situations, it becomes imperative on the Government of the day to initiate those necessary discussions in the interest of the country. That said, nothing prevents the Opposition from indicating the need for such talks and making itself available to be engaged at any time. Further, these discussions do not have the luxury of convenient time, for the…
Read MoreSwing voting in Guyana: finally?
By Ravi Dev Changes in the political behaviour of a people will occur only after there have been changes in their moral and cultural consciousness. Guyanese have no more than a passing acquaintance with democratic governance. Neither the Dutch founders of Guyana between 1621 and 1803, nor the British between 1803 and 1966 practiced democracy. The PNC wasted its opportunity after Guyana was given “independence” under its stewardship and they proceeded to institute a dictatorship from 1966 to 1992, when they were ousted “democratically” from office by the PPP. Everyone…
Read MoreGuyana must maintain the HIV/AIDS fight
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) continues to be a major global public health issue that claims the lives of thousands worldwide every year. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), in 2017, 940, 000 people died from HIV-related causes globally. There were approximately 36.9 million people living with HIV at the end of 2017 with 1.8 million people becoming newly infected in 2017 globally. 59% of adults and 52% of children living with HIV were receiving lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2017. Global ART coverage for pregnant and breastfeeding women…
Read MoreWhat will change?
By Ravi Dev Once again, we are headed towards elections. But exactly what will that lead to, if we haven’t addressed our fundamental ethnic security dilemmas which prevent us from realising the fundamental premise of democracy: that the state be managed for all the people of the country. Those who manage the affairs of the state have to accept they are servants of the people. Hegel called them the “universal class”. If the staffing of the institutions of the state is in the control of any single “faction” of the…
Read MoreDangerous signals from Govt
The rulings of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on the December 21, 2018 No-Confidence Motion (NCM) and the appointment of Justice James Patterson as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) are without ambiguity. In simple and clear language, the Court declared that the NCM was properly passed; Mr Charrandas Persaud’s vote was valid with the right to vote against his party; 33 is a majority needed and Justice Patterson’s appointment was unconstitutional. The decisions were a stinging rebuke of the Government’s arguments especially its laughable and absurd theory…
Read MoreNational and Regional Cultural Policy
By Ravi Dev Ministers of Culture from across CARICOM have just finished “deliberating” on a Draft Cultural Strategy, during the 36th meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) at the CariCom Secretariat in Liliendaal. Their focus was “culture is our business”, and the meeting was geared towards “developing cultural and creative industries”, which would include music, audio visuals, visual arts, publishing, festivals, fashion, performing arts and craft. But what is troubling is that there was only talk of “culture” – implying a single monolithic entity. Whither, then,…
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