…the Coalition will win big in March, Jagdeo is panicking

IT is becoming clearer by the day that the Coalition will win the upcoming elections. Even the PPP seems to be adjusting itself to that reality. Indeed, they are hoping that the Coalition leaders do not hammer out an accord. This teacher begs to differ. There will be an accord and the APNU+AFC Coalition will contest and win the elections. When the shadow boxing and hardnosed negotiations are over, the revised Cummingsburg Accord would be in place. Mark my word.

This past week Jagdeo has again threatened to take to the streets. This has now become the PPP’s routine course of action. It is the act of first and last resort. The aim, of course, is not to register righteous resistance. The promised protests are meant to muddy the election waters, to create instability and cause the postponement of the elections and then blame the Coalition. That is how sore losers behave. They telegraph their impending defeat by creating the conditions to cry foul.

The PPP and Jagdeo are up to no good. The have a weak presidential candidate who was handpicked by Jagdeo at the bidding of a group of rich businesspeople. Irfan Ali was not the choice of the PPP leadership or supporters. He was imposed on the party. The PPP has polling that shows the party losing the election partly because Irfan Alli is the presidential candidate. Many PPP supporters don’t care for him as president and they are telling this to pollsters.

So Jagdeo is panicking. They have now floated the idea of Jagdeo as Prime Ministerial candidate. This is desperation. That ploy cannot fly anyway because the PM is president in waiting and Jagdeo cannot serve another term. But to think that they would even put this idea out there shows how desperate they are. The PPP’s ship is sinking, so they are clutching at straws.

Jagdeo tried to make light of the recent salary hike for public servants. The salary increases represent a knockout punch to the PPP. They have been preying on dissatisfied public servants like vultures. Now the public servants have been given some of what they deserve, the PPP has lost another limb on which to climb. Public servants now have a living wage. If you calculate the numbers, no government has given so much to workers in so little time. They can’t deny that. The PPP has lost another fight. These are the numbers; numbers don’t lie.

Public servants earning between $100,000 and under $1 million will receive an 8.5 per cent increase, while those earning below $100,000 will receive a 9 per cent increase in their salaries.

Public servants earning $64,220 and below will receive an additional $69,336 in their December pay cheque. Public servants who received the old minimum wage of $64,220 will benefit from both the 9 per cent increase in the minimum wage, and the additional $69,336 in excess of their base salaries.

Station allowances for public servants receiving same will be increased by over 260 per cent from $2,800 to $10,000, while hinterland allowances will be increased by between 100 per cent and 600 per cent, from between $4000 and $12,000 to $24,000, depending on the class of public servant.

Public servants risk allowances will be increased by 900 per cent from $500 to $5000, while the uniform allowance for health sector workers will be increased from $13,000 and $22,135 to $15,000 and $30,000. The minimum wage has increased by 77 per cent since the Coalition took office in 2015, when the wage stood at $39,540.

Then they tried the other day to smear the WPA with the Rodney issue. The PPP’s Chief Whip sought to whip up a frenzy after the WPA made clear that it would not be blackmailed out of the Coalition. The good Comrade Gail waxed lyrical about how Jagan loved Rodney. Ogunseye waded into her. But it was the esteemed Elder Kwayana who let her have it. Kwayana does not speak much these days, but when he does, he clarifies so much for Guyana. Like the Political Teacher, he brings to bear lots of wisdom. The PPP would jump to the high heavens if the succeed in getting the WPA to leave the Coalition. But that aint look like it’s going to happen any time soon.

The teacher is ready to predict a big win for the Coalition. More PPP supporters are crossing over to the Coalition. The polls are showing this. These are mostly younger people. They are telling the PPP one thing and doing another. They like the fact that the Coalition gives them a breath of options from which the choose. These young people are turned off from Irfan Alli and Jagdeo. They don’t like Jagdeo’s coarseness and Alli’s unpreparedness. These PPP supporters say Alli would form a micky-mouse government.

After all the huffing and puffing, the new parties have settled down to the inevitable—they know the Coalition will win. They know that they are being used by the PPP to undermine the Coalition support. But they realize that Coalition supporters are not buying their story. Only Badal and Hinds are still trying a thing—they are trying to buy votes with their big money. Al they are talking about is taxes. But takes don’t win elections. So, the Coalition will win the elections. They will win 35-37 seats. There is still work to be done, but they will win. They have better ideas and policies. They have a better top man. They have a better support cast. The are talking to more people. They are the better choice. And there is nothing Jagdeo can do about it other that threaten mayhem.