Conversation Tree

YESU PERSAUD

The editorial of Stabroek News and the letter by Clement Rohee in yesterday’s edition provide two of the most excellent tributes to the late Yesu Persaud that have been written. While the full scale of the contributions made by Yesu Persaud would require much more than a few articles, so monumental they were and so pervasively they impacted on the creation of the modern Guyana, at least they capture some of the significant aspects of his long and productive career which have shaped the ideals of modern Guyana. His very life story reflects the struggle of Guyana and the Guyanese people for a better life. Emerging out of a logie as an illiterate rat catcher on Bookers’ sugar estates, then scaling the heights of the business sector, transitioning from the private to the public sector, rising to a business titan and humanitarian, his story embodies the struggle, hopes and aspirations of every disadvantaged and oppressed person in the world. He is a Guyanese patriot whose principles and accomplishments surpass those of most others.

A DISUNITED PNCR IS NOT GOOD FOR GUYANA

Trends have emerged in Guyana where political parties, principally the PNCR, sometimes define their responsibilities as relating to only those who they ‘represent’ or their ‘supporters’ or who ‘voted for them,’ even though, as Government or Opposition, they are expected to represent the interests of all Guyanese. But political polarization over the years has created an outlook so partisan in nature that political parties are tempted to look out for, or confine their responsibilities to, only those who voted for them. The PNCR, as the PPP generally does, should hold itself out as representing all Guyanese and its policies should be so explained, if it intends to acquire and retain, broad appeal. With both parties adopting a national mandate, a division in either weakens its capacity to represent the interests of the Guyanese nation.

UMBRELLA

Rihanna, the Barbadian-American singer, became popular with the song ‘Umbrella,’ released in 2008. ‘Umbrella’, along with later songs, are the basis of her status as a megastar and a billionaire entrepreneur of the ‘Fenty’ line of products. ‘Umbrella’ contains the lines: “With you I’ll always share…Know that we’ll still have each other.”

HAPPY NEW YEAR

On this first day of the New Year I wish my readers, the readers of SN and all Guyanese, a joyful day and a successful 2022. In the new year we should give some thought to the thirty percent of Guyanese who live below the poverty line and about thirty percent of those who live in extreme poverty, as well as the many foreigners entering our country seeking refuge from economic and other circumstances. Outside of these groups, a large number of Guyanese struggle every day to ensure that food is on the table. It should be our nation’s first priority in the new year to ensure that life is made better for these disadvantaged groups. Guyana now has sufficient resources, and will soon acquire more, to make an immediate, positive, impact on the lives of those in difficult circumstances. Despite the disputes and differences of opinion among us on many things, few would challenge any priority being given to alleviate the conditions of the distressed.

ODD MAN IN

Aubrey Norton, newly elected leader of the PNCR is only ‘odd’ in the sense that he survived at or near the leadership of the PNCR for near thirty years, despite falling out with all the leaders under whom he served – Desmond Hoyte, Robert Corbin and David Granger. I know of no one else in Guyana’s politics who has managed such a feat. Because of the opacity of the PNCR’s politics, about which I remarked last week, the reasons for Mr. Norton’s failure to sustain the support of PNCR’s leaders are not known. The only certainty appears to be that he fought for his positions, made no compromises, prepared himself for the hits and took them courageously on the chin.