Pull Quote: ‘President Bharrat Jagdeo must be the most over-scrutinized president in the history of this country, only for the reason that his Administration continues to bring an abundance of developmental gains’

Pull Quote: ‘For sure, there are some hitches and glitches within the Jagdeo Administration; nevertheless, if we do a force-field analysis, reviewing the pros and cons of the Jagdeo Government, the pros will be the winner’
‘DESPERATION’ is the new-fangled trump card of the new opposition. In case you may not know, the new opposition refers to some of the following: Private mass media; politicians mainly from the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR); and the hate literati. If you know of others, please tell the world. Well, at this early point of the 2011 election campaign, this new opposition’s desperation has a jump-start, giving it some capacity daily to tell the stories of crisis. Indeed, seemingly, the new opposition lives and breathes ‘crises’, as if nothing good is happening.

The literature notes that desperate people may lose the capacity to focus, and they present everything as exponential, perhaps a hype, too. This type of behaviour resonates well in Guyana, as it is a daily occurrence; notably emerging in 1992, nonetheless gaining momentum during the Jagdeo Administration.

President Bharrat Jagdeo must be the most over-scrutinized president in the history of this country, only for the reason that his Administration continues to bring an abundance of developmental gains. And there are some people who argue that there is corruption and lawlessness, and there may very well be, as we find in so many democracies; nonetheless, if these evils exist, then they require elimination. But the problem with these people is that this is all that they see pertaining to this government’s accomplishments. And that is a bias.

For sure, there are some hitches and glitches within the Jagdeo Administration; nevertheless, if we do a force-field analysis, reviewing the pros and cons of the Jagdeo Government, the pros will be the winner. The nation should engage the new opposition in this debate on the pros and cons of the Jagdeo Administration, and indeed the ruling PPP/C’s years. And these opposition elements, too, must be subject to some serious scrutiny by virtue of their recent zero political governance experience, arising from their sustained electoral failures.

There is support for the view that sustained failure may be a cause for concern among some people; there are some who exploit opportunities from failures, and others where anxiety takes over. The new opposition failed to win any national elections over the last 19 years, almost two decades, and the People’s National Congress, formerly the traditional opposition, never won an election in Guyana since universal adult suffrage in 1953. And given the new opposition’s unnerved behaviours that now deck the halls of centre-stage, clearly, the onset of desperation has to be at the seething point, as the 2011 election of necessity has to be a ‘must win’ for the new opposition.

Not surprisingly, the new opposition camp already is in disarray, as a mere few biting statements recently from President Bharrat Jagdeo have so easily and impressively unnerved its campsite. No wonder today, the new opposition’s desperation has prematurely become the main event. President Jagdeo may have a few more hair-raising remarks for the new opposition; so do not pick up the remote control as yet.

And the new opposition’s demoralized behaviours are telling; they are busy telling the people how bad the Jagdeo Administration is, without presenting any of their programmes in sync with verifiable national needs for the next five years. Some of the opposition elements have no track record of political governance, so it would be instructive to not merely accept their programmes willy- nilly; indeed, the new opposition has a social responsibility to demonstrate the feasibility of their programs with evidence-based data.

The PPP/C has solid experience of political governance. The people of Guyana are aware of the ruling PPP/C accomplishments and what it intends to roll out over the next five years. Let me present one example of what is to come. Education may be a number one priority because each child  must have the capacity to read; each child must have the opportunity for access to the Internet; each child must have access to higher education; and each child must have the capacity for lifelong learning. And these goals are achievable vis-а-vis national standards and testing; certification of ‘master’ teachers, among others. This is an effective approach that President Clinton partially applied in education.  
And let me leave you with some of the following PPP/C’s accomplishments over recent years: reconstruction of health infrastructures – new hospitals at New Amsterdam, Georgetown, and Kamarang; high immunization rates among children now 95% compared to 65% in 1991; infant mortality rate now 48 per 1,000 compared to 120 per 1,000 in 1991; maternal mortality rate now 11 per 1,000 compared to 34 per 1,000 in 1991; Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS currently with over 150 sites; universal primary school enrolment; 72% general secondary school enrolment in comparison with 35% in 1991; 84 schools built, including the rehabilitation of many;56% trained teachers now in comparison with 35% in 1991;in excess of 75% passes at the CXC annually in comparison with less than 50% in 1991; housing boom – 100,000 house lots, 35,000 titles, 7% mortgage interest rate; 85% access to water today compared to 40% in 1992.