Politicians should have a desire to move Guyana forward

Dear Editor,
In reflecting on the past year in office as president of Guyana, Donald Ramotar underlined the need for there to be more meaningful cooperation at all levels between stakeholders, especially at the political level, to ensure that Guyana continues on a progressive path. In any society where there is no political stability, almost every other aspect of national life is affected and the president has shown that he fully understands this.
We are currently witnessing in Guyana the highest level of bullyism and spitefulness by the opposition parties against the government and the country seems to be going nowhere. One may ask why this is so. If every politician in the country has a desire to see Guyana develop, what is causing them to not want to work as a team with one aim and help our people achieve their true potential?  During the past 12 months, President Ramotar has shown by his actions that he is the people’s president by reaching out to each group with a view to addressing their concerns. At the political level, he has signalled an interest in building consensus to advance the nation’s business and has established a tripartite committee of political leaders. He has underlined his commitment and continued willingness to engage these leaders despite challenges as highlighted by efforts to stagnate government’s business in the National Assembly.
One would recall that, with no willingness to compromise, talks at the tripartite level that the president had encouraged after elections failed to achieve the desired results when the opposition political parties nominated and voted in favour of a speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly from the opposition benches. They also occupied a majority seating in the Committee of Selection, a move which was widely termed contrary to parliamentary norms.
I wonder when the opposition will truly understand that they are there to serve the people, as this is completely the opposite of what they are doing. Personally, I believe that the government should go ahead and call snap elections next year as the entire country is being stalled as a result of the actions by our politicians. The entire Caribbean is moving forward while we in Guyana remain the laughing stock of the region, as our people continue to run to other countries in search of better opportunities.
There is so much potential in this beautiful country. When will the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) realise this? 2013 is almost here, and I am not optimistic that things would change for the better, considering the rantings of a few opposition members.
Faithfully,
Carol Younge