Govt’s ‘green agenda’ aimed at whipping up political support

…says Ramkarran

Government’s Green State agenda or what some would describe as a slow revolution has been heavily criticised by a large mass of the Guyanese population and joining that group is former Speaker of the National Assembly and Senior Counsel, Ralph Ramkarran, who rubbished the strategy in his weekly column “Conversation Tree”.
Ramkarran, a political analyst, wrote that since the victory of the coalition Government in 2015, it has sought to promote the colour green. The colour as a matter of fact is also used for both the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC).

“It first started with school buses and school boats. Now, it is reported that school benches at some locations are being painted green. These were followed by the new, imposing fence at the Office of the President which itself, along with State House, have now fallen victim to the colour green,” he said.
According to the former Speaker, the designation of Guyana as ‘The Green State’ was not an accident. Ramkarran believes that dozens of other characterisations could have been formulated to define Guyana’s intended adherence to a strict environmental regime, details of which he said are yet to be announced.
However, the Attorney said it was believed that the selection of the term ‘The Green State’ had something to do with the party colour and the President’s obvious attraction to it.
And it is also believed that in the absence of any serious programme to implement ‘The Green State’, the President has decided to paint the entire country green, starting with the city. This, he said, is a demonstration of the Government’s commitment and a way of whipping up political support.
Ramkarran believes that further popularisation of the colour green will result in State House becoming known as ‘The Green House’, just as the residence of the US President which is painted white, is known as The White House and the presidential palace in South Korea is known as The Blue House.
He said it has also been rumoured that since the controversy over the State House being painted green, quiet orders could be issued for other Government buildings to be painted green.
“Parliament Building will be next because it is believed that the Speaker will offer no objection and will allow no debate because green is one of the component colours of the Guyana flag and such a colour cannot be the subject of debate, as the Speaker has ruled on a previous occasion,” he recalled.
Ramkarran said the next building that could go green was the High Court. “The Government will believe that even if there is objection by the Chief Justice [ag], it wouldn’t really matter because the Chief Justice can have her view and the President can have his view. This being the governing philosophy in relation to the judiciary, the Government will obviously feel that even if the Chief Justice’s view were different to that of the President, it is the President’s view that will prevail.”
Next on the agenda, according to the former Speaker, will be a refurbished City Hall. He said there have been reports that the main ambition of the former Prime Minister and Mayor, Hamilton Green, was to paint the building green. He said back when “Hammie was a big power”, the colour green was synonymous with almost everything he wore and owned.
“His clothing, his pen, his ink, his vehicles, even his shoes. The rumour is that Hammie was so incensed that when his black hair started to change colour to grey instead of green, he shaved it all out in rage.”
Before the next election, which is due in 2020, Ramkarran said the entire city of Georgetown could become green, if not environmentally, then at least in colour, in line with Guyana’s green forests, green trees and green vegetation. This is something that the Government has been vigorously pursuing.
He said, “The Government believes that this colour revolution will inspire support because it would be one step closer to the achievement of ‘The Green State’. But most people in the city already support the Government. How then can the Government extend the green revolution to other parts of the country, particularly where the Opposition holds sway?”
Ramkarran also hinted at the possibility of private building being painted in green as well, as Government may go as far as applying various sorts of persuasive techniques. “To obtain Government contracts, shop licences, customs waivers, drivers’ licences, ID cards, passports, and other concessions, owners of properties must first have all their buildings painted green,” he opined.
He continued, “Soon, the Government believes, all holdouts will eventually succumb to the green revolution. I am told that the Opposition has received information that all government buildings such as schools, local government offices, health centres will be painted green after Georgetown.”
However, while Guyana will be transformed to the point where many of its buildings would be green, Ramkarran believes that Government would keep a close eye on the Opposition’s policy of non-cooperation. “However, they believe that such a policy will fizzle out as it did in the 1970s. It sees the evidence in the budget debate. The Opposition has condemned the budget, but are still participating in the debate.”
Making reference to the chaos in Parliament, the former Speaker said the Opposition’s attempt to deal with the green revolution was in utter chaos, which was also likely to dissipate, just as the matter involving Opposition Member of Parliament Juan Edghill has slowly died down.