The Lloyda Nicholas-Garrett Issue—putting, Blackness and our public discourse...
THERE is understandably a lot of chat about the issue surrounding the young lady, Lloyda Nicholas-Garrett, who referred to her Indian-Guyanese colleagues by the term that is both officially derogatory...
View ArticleThe media, party politics
–and the shaping of political attitudes in contemporary Guyana TODAY’S column expands on something I have hinted at in previous columns without elaboration: The convergence of party politics, the media...
View ArticleThe PNC in motion
–Time, place, personalities and history THIS week’s column is mostly political history, but also partly contextualisation. Particularly, it looks at the earlier history of the PNC and its evolution...
View ArticleThe PPP gloriously messed up Guyana from 1992 to 2015
NOT unexpectedly, the PPP used the recent 25th anniversary of the 1992 return of free and open elections to Guyana to try to con the nation about what transpired during its long 23-year reign. As I...
View ArticleThe President did not violate the constitution
…but his decision is politically counter-productive WE should have seen it coming, but as we are prone to do, we hoped it wouldn’t happen. I always felt that the best outcome for the PPP and the one...
View ArticleThe racial consequences of the GECOM impasse
MY opposition to the president’s unilateral appointment of the GECOM chair is not based on his lack of authority to make the appointment. I do not share that view. My reading of the letter of the...
View ArticleTime to scrap the Carter formula:
…the political spirit that made it work is gone THE current Carter-Price formula was put in place as a stop-gap measure prior to the 1992 election. It was part of the negotiated settlement to ensure...
View ArticlePolitical decisions have consequences
POLITICAL decisions have consequences–often wide-ranging consequences. It is for that reason that those who are tasked with making such decisions weigh the pros and the cons, must consult widely and...
View ArticleThe AFC, WPA, PNC and the coalition’s chances at the next election
By Dr. David Hinds THE AFC has been in the news quite a bit this past week. The Stabroek News, which played an instrumental role in the birth of the party, has been asking probing questions about its...
View ArticleThe AFC agony is the result of that party’s political blunders
Managing coalitions is always a delicate undertaking. The major partner invariably tries to manage the Government in its own image while the minor partner or partners try to prevent this from...
View ArticleBurnham’s ideas then and now
LINCOLN Lewis has taken me to task for saying that Burnham’s ideas are a thing of the past. He accused me of divisiveness and of being disrespectful to the former President. I must admit that I was...
View ArticleSugar and politics and the politics of sugar
THIS past week Guysuco announced that it is retrenching 4,000 sugar workers based on recommendations contained in a State Paper on sugar that was reportedly agreed to by Cabinet. Minster Joe Harmon...
View ArticleRemembering Martin Carter as Guyana is dying
AS a boy growing up in Buxton, I participated in almost every facet of village life—from sports to drama to politics to religion. Looking back, I have come to realise I was part of something bigger...
View ArticleWhat the Caribbean brought with it at independence
A FEW weeks ago, I gave the 12th annual Patrick Emmanuel Lecture at the University of the West Indies campus at Cave Hill, Barbados. I used the lecture to reflect on Caribbean independence as a process...
View ArticleThe year 2017 was terrible for both the government and opposition
TODAY is the last day of the year—another year of frustration and dashed hopes has come to an end. We look forward to the new year, as we must, with some degree of optimism that things will get better....
View ArticleDrastic action needed now to save West Indies cricket
— Guyana Government must act to end local impasse THE West Indies have just completed yet another disappointing overseas tour—this time the team failed to win a single game across the three formats...
View ArticleI am Black and Beautiful
ON this Martin Luther King Jr weekend, I am moved to reflect on my Blackness. I come from a tradition that is not afraid to speak about race and blackness. While I am fully aware of the risks therein,...
View ArticleExecutive power and constitutional reform
ALTHOUGH, constitutionally, Guyana has three co-equal branches of government in practice, the executive overpowers the other two branches. In fact, one can reasonably argue that there is a form of...
View ArticleCampaign finance reform legislation
OVER the next two years, Guyana is expected to hold two elections—the local government elections later this year and the general elections in 2020. Despite promises of campaign finance reform, the...
View ArticleCommissions of Inquiry
POLITICIANS are a special breed—they never fail to amaze you. There is a kind of barefacedness about their utterances and actions that makes you wonder if they should be leading people and nations. As...
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