What has happened, has happened, and now we must move on - with intelligence and wisdom. To do this, we must listen to the voices that are raised and the questions that are being asked. People’s dispositions do not change from good-natured friendliness to anger without a cause. So what is the cause?

Before we look at that, we should record two questions that are repeatedly being raised. Why were the gates of the Presidential compound not locked when it was known that an angry mob was approaching? The answer seems to be that the gates were locked but the force of the angry mob broke the lock. If that is the case, there is a lesson to be learnt there.

Secondly, why did persons in the Payless, Get More Shopping Centre not take action to put the flames out when the fire started? The Fire Brigade has to ensure that persons in business centres are well trained to deal with fires.

We come now to the question of the anger. It is not wise to hide our heads in the sand and not seek to discover the cause of the anger. The 2001 elections have proved without doubt that there is little hope of any other political party gaining power in Guyana. Therefore, what obtains now will continue indefinitely. Supporters of the main opposition party see no future for themselves, their children and their children’s children.

When constitutional changes were being considered, I drew attention to the Swiss model of government. The major party in that country is so large that there is no hope that any other political party will ever take control. In view of this, the major party devised a system of government which has ensured good governance. Good governance is what we all seek.

The system is that managers are chosen by all parties to be ministers. The managers select a Prime Minister from among themselves. There is no talk of power or power-sharing. When I advocated that we study the system and consider whether we could not devise something similar, I was told that we were not mature enough for this. If we are not mature enough for this and if we will not seek to find some other system that renounces the word power then we must resign ourselves to eruptions of violence at intervals.

In the meantime, what action can we take to get to the root of the problems? There is need for the authorities to listen to the voices of grass-root people and to speak with them on a regular basis. The representatives of civil society are top brass. The grass-root people have to be encountered.

In addition to the questions that are being asked, there has been some reference to reparation for the devastating experience of slavery, the uprooting of people who now know no other country, but this Guyana, a country in which they no longer have a voice. The spending of funds, such as funds for education, must be carefully overlooked to ensure that they bring deprived persons out of poverty and into possession of skills that can earn money in private enterprise. Government jobs are not easily accessible.