The ruling party does not seem to have noticed that the political atmosphere has changed. Perhaps it began with last year’s election which dealt the old two-party format a significant blow. However, that might not have caused Freedom House immediate unease since in comparison with 2020 it could go back to Parliament with a comfortable majority this time around.
It would have recognised too that the real loser was APNU, many of whose defectors chose to cast their ballots for what both the established parties regarded as a parvenu on the scene. As it is despite the PNCR Leader taking his party to its worst showing ever in any free and fair election here, he has not felt any compunction to resign. In fact he has not been much in evidence since the national ballot, although he did make his presence felt in relation to the protests at Linden and Hopetown last week. It is Messrs Terrence Campbell and Ganesh Mahipaul who are now the major faces of what was once the official opposition here.
For its part the ruling party probably believed that WIN was a passing phenomenon, since its leader, Mr Azruddin Mohamed is currently subject to extradition proceedings. On that basis the Speaker of the House of Assembly postponed for as long as he was able the vote among opposition members to install him as Leader of the Opposition. Once he was in office, however, the government effectively bypassed him, its constitutional commitments notwithstanding.
But since the election Mr Mohamed has been busy travelling around the country, particularly in the interior, drawing attention to infrastructure inadequacies and the various adversities confronting residents. Citizens of all races see him as someone who can make public the difficulties they face, resulting in some attention from government. In a sense he is giving a voice to those who are invisible other than when the periodic election campaigns roll around.
It might be noted that unlike his predecessors he appears to have unlimited resources to enable him to travel anywhere in a geographically challenging country. That gives him, of course, a huge advantage. But there is something else too, and that is his enormous energy which exceeds anything seen in any opposition politician for many years, if not decades. Mr Norton’s dormancy is conspicuous by comparison.
The tragedy of the MV Barima sinking has opened up the society in ways that no one anticipated. The issues which it raises are major ones in terms of governance, and affect everyone of whatever race or political persuasion. It has produced public responses from across the social spectrum, to an extent that the government clearly did not anticipate.
Yet it still has not recognised that this is a situation which requires different tactics from the well-worn ones in its usual playbook. So there it is attempting to salvage its political reputation, shift responsibility for what happened onto individual employees of Transport and Harbours, try to persuade the families of those missing in the disaster that the vessel should not be raised, exclude the opposition from any discussion about the COI or any other relevant question, protect the two ministers associated with the matter from criticism, switch attention to other issues, and in general make an effort to control the narrative.
Its problem is this is not working.
The Amerindian Peoples Association along with other citizens have protested outside the Office of the President calling for accountability and improvements to the country’s transportation systems, while civil society groups have campaigned for Minister Edghill’s removal among other things. Where Amerindian villages specifically are concerned, the Parakeese Area Council, located in Moruca has called for an apology from the government over the MV Barima and the resignation of ministers responsible for the transport sector.
But apart from the opposition and the known civil society organisations there is a new group with a student base in evidence demonstrating under the banner ‘We the people’ in front of the Office of the President. While they have been joined by opposition representatives, they have insisted that their protest has no political connection or basis. They have asked for accountability and for Minister Edghill to go, and have also drawn attention to government responsibility and the role of citizens in demanding answers.
In the meantime the President has been on outreaches, or else speaking on his Model Village initiative. In the case of Linden it was the Vice President who went to Watooka House to talk primarily about housing. In all instances they were met by a variety of demonstrators and again, not just the opposition parties. It is not even as if the President has shown great sensitivity, having turned up for his peregrinations in the North-West with Minister Edghill in tow.
And it is difficult to believe that he seriously thought the attention of the residents of Melanie, for example, would be diverted by his Model Village pilot project when one of their number is being held for murder in relation to the deaths caused by the capsizing of the MV Barima.
The opposition has accused the government of attempting distraction with its outreaches and Model Village project, an allegation not without foundation. And legal sources have pointed out that the three men charged with murder will not give evidence at the COI because it could be used against them at trial. And this is in circumstances where they are major witnesses. The public on the other hand sees these charges as unjustified and an avenue of restricting access to the truth, more particularly since no ministers are taking responsibility.
There are of course all the usual moves for restricting the public from putting questions to officials. As well as the ubiquitous police barricades there have been exclusions from meetings, while Mr Mohamed has said that he was prevented by the GDF from going to Moruca when the President was due to speak there.All the demonstrations have been peaceful, which has not prevented the government from sometimes bringing out the army in the background, whether out of genuine fear or with a view to intimidation.
Just how out of touch the ruling party is with the political mood of the country was illustrated by the remarks made by AG Anil Nandlall. Speaking on his Facebook programme he said he was reviewing the contracts in relation to the Port Kaituma stelling, and that there could be legal action if evidence of negligence was revealed. No problem there. However he moved on to state, “We are determining the causes of the tragedy. The state has many arms and many different apparatus that are at work.”
Except that as the public has noticed not every arm of the state appears to be committed to determining all the various levels of causation. But the real problem came when Mr Nandlall accused the opposition of pursuing a “political vendetta” in relation to its demands for the resignations of Ministers Edghill and Indar. He is maintaining this position despite the fact he must know that in an average democracy they would have resigned weeks ago.
And in terms of the demonstrations he took issue with those protesting in relation to the arrest of the three T&HD employees, saying they should first get permission so they are in compliance with the law. He then added: “Why are you protesting? That is the point I am making. What is the purpose of the protest? I am not sure what is the purpose.” One can only wonder if he is living in the same country as the mass of the population. It seems he and his fellow ministers have lost touch with reality.
In the meantime Mr Mohamed has resumed his efforts in new directions, querying the cost of the rehabilitation of the Linden Highway, and drawing attention to the problems with the pedestrian over-passes on the East Bank. The government is expecting him to be extradited in due course, and is presuming that after that it can return to the status quo ante.
If it does transpire that Mr Mohamed is extradited, it is difficult to say what would then happen to the WIN party with which he is so closely associated.That question apart the government may find that the new climate which has been triggered by tragedy does not evaporate in the clammy political air in Mr Mohamed’s absence. There is Gen Z and students making their voices heard for the first time demanding accountability and the end of repression and intimidation. “This demonstration is not organized by any political party. It is a people’s initiative…” reads one of their posters.
The story of the MV Barima has a long way to run yet, and the questions in connection to it are so varied that keeping a lid on the consequences will be almost impossible for the government. And it will be trying to do that where non-party actors have entered the stage and the political atmosphere has changed.
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