A number of politicians and political commentators continue to refer to the largest member of the present coalition government, PNCR as the PNC. This is erroneous. The PNC that was founded by Forbes Burnham was an anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist and anti-racist, nationalist party. Let us make no mistake; that party died with Forbes Burnham.
What we have today, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) is a creation of Desmond Hoyte and other opportunistic and reactionary elements in the former PNC. These are the same people who, as soon as Burnham was laid to rest, threw off their shirt-jacs and put on their suits and ties, after telling us that we must decolonize our clothing and tastes. At that moment, it should have been clear to us all, that these politicians were only paying lip service to Burnham’s ideas to lead this country to true independence and economic justice.
A far cry from Burnham’s PNC, today’s PNCR can best be described as a centre-right, imperialist friendly, middleclass electoral outfit, that have completely surrendered to the neo-liberal capitalist agenda which can only widen the gap between rich and poor in Guyana. In order to be accurate, our politicians and commentators must differentiate between substance and form and stop referring to the PNCR as the PNC.
In today’s political landscape, Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP) is the only political entity that embodies the aims, objectives and aspirations of Forbes Burnham’s PNC. Our leadership and membership is made up of many Burnhamites, who fully understood and supported the policies put in place by Burnham – policies that even his detractors have admitted would have laid the foundation for a strong, self-reliant and just Guyana – very different from the Guyana that we are trying so hard to celebrate in 2016. That is why during the 2015 General and Regional Elections campaign we were able to make the bold claim that “OVP is the real PNC”. The struggle continues.
Gerald A. Perreira
Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP)