Last updated on Saturday, June 29, 2024, 9:31 by Denis Chabrol
By GHK Lall
The man of the hour is Mr. Aubrey C. Norton. He will be the man for the times to come. Thanks to the support of his comrades, he is, by almost unanimous judgment, the one to go for. I say almost because there have been these notable absences which say so much about the wounds that still fester deep within the PNC. He must reform himself before he can tackle reform in Guyana. The Guyana we all seek in the country’s distinctiveness. The economic position and the realities of its innumerable peoples. Innumerable fusions of races, luxuriant intermingling that result. It is pointless, almost a cheap insult, the worst insult, to extol the Guyanese as the richest per capita in the world, when so much is missing that hinders their advancement and dashes their hopes.
Opposition Leader Norton must set himself apart in the way he moves forward and in what he makes his highest priority. To be clear, it is not a question of how he must be or what he should try to be. It is a question of how and what he must be. Take ownership and move forward through a rare local peculiarity that is captivating because it is different. Aubrey Norton cannot be like President Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. He must not be as cowardly or sycophantic as they are when it comes to this oil. It is what has paralyzed the imperatives of this nation, which is true prosperity for all its peoples. Not overwhelming prosperity for comrades and buddies, but real prosperity for all. There is enough oil, enough production, enough of a current global pricing system to enable prosperity for all Guyanese. Today, not tomorrow. Now, and not this misty mirage that former President Jagdeo has made his mantra and which is far from meaningless. Dr. Jagdeo is excellent at making promises. To my regret, he has greatly disappointed in his performance. The same goes for the high-strung and loudly argumentative Excellency Ali. Were he a wrestler, he would do well. As a political leader who holds the world of Guyana in his hands, Mohamed Irfaan Ali was pathetic and exemplary in his impotence.
Aubrey Norton cannot be like Dr. Ali or Dr. Jagdeo: they make promises and then forget what they have done. Then they lose the part of their anatomy that distinguishes real men from others. And finally, they lose the trust that is due to national leaders, at a time like never before. Because they have gambled away every trust that was placed in them. They have played with the trust of Guyanese and thereby earned themselves one of those derogatory labels used to describe those who give the naive and gullible a beating and then a financial murder. Mr. Norton made his own promises at the PNC Congress. He must stick to them and fulfill them to the letter, because if he does not, he is no different from Ali and Jagdeo. To put it bluntly, no matter how many of the three win internally without a fight, if they fail to challenge Exxon’s hegemony with Guyana’s oil, then they are national losers at best. The Guyanese lose again because they believed that Captains General Ali and Jagdeo would prove themselves true. Aubrey Norton has that uncomfortable crown on his head and the weight of great expectations on his head too. Two of our brothers have shown themselves to be inadequate to the enormous challenges that lie ahead, and in a miserable way. Mr Norton must not be allowed to win a third time in a row.
He has said how much he would put in motion in his first 100 days if he manages to attain the national leadership position. As I told the President and Vice President, owning this great oil wealth puts Guyana (and them) in the driver’s seat, treaty or no treaty. They have not even tried to assert themselves and push for a standoff with Exxon and the other Americans. Here and here is where Mr. Norton could distance himself from this sorry duo. He must know something by now. Besides its commercial value, this oil also has geopolitical and geostrategic value. Exxon is getting its share of it, but it cannot continue to be so big. America wants a reliable presence and its own influence here. These are not cheap and should not be as cheap as they have been.
Money for the youth, money for the poor, equitable distribution of the money and all the other matters related to oil money that need urgent attention. These matters were prominently covered in Mr. Norton’s address to his PNC audience. It goes without saying that Mr. Norton stressed the corruption surrounding all that money. There is corruption in these oil talks. If such talks are even held, they have not made any significant difference to Guyanese across the board. And if these oil talks are not prioritized and not fought for, then volumes can be written about the corruption that has ravaged the political realm. Mr. Norton mentioned again in the warm circle of Congress what he will be like in his first 100 days if this comes to pass. Today, now, his education begins. It is public in the sparks he displays. It can be uplifting in the strengths he represents. If he holds back, he will pay a price. I urge the OL to understand where President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo stand in relation to their own supporters. They are despised for not fighting for Guyanese and dismissed. It should mean something to him. The first 100 days must be marked by promises kept. The first 100 days start now.
