The joint protest of the APNU and AFC yesterday outside the Brazilian Embassy further confirms the growing alliance between the two opposition parties. The reason for the protest is merely to distract the public from the overwhelming support for the PPP/C public meeting in Lethem, Rupunnuni. Both the PPP/C and the Government of Brazil have clarified the role of the Governor of Roraima’s visit to Lethem as  having nothing to do with campaigning for the PPP/C.
But devoid of real issues to discuss during the elections, the APNU/AFC alliance is latching on to another extraneous matter, hoping to gain some political traction and relevance with a very discerning electorate.
Regarding the flood relief support to the communities of the Rupununi, it must be recalled that after Region 9 was hit by a historic flooding in June of this year, the government had at that time (some five months ago) announced a menu of measures to support the communities in rebuilding and returning to normalcy. The National Assembly subsequently, long before the elections campaign started or a date for elections was announced, appropriated money for the flood support interventions. The opposition parties participated in those deliberations in the National Assembly, and were fully aware of the government’s quick, multi-pronged response to aid the affected communities in quick rebuilding and a return to normalcy.
This exercise has been ongoing for a number of weeks, covering the vast and remote areas of the Rupununi.
To now claim that this exercise has something to do with the PPP/C elections campaign is ridiculous and a reflection of desperation. The assertion that some of the support was distributed in the vicinity of the public meeting site was merely in response to a request by villagers not to go to another location to collect their assistance. This act was not sanctioned by the PPP/C campaign, and the public officers should not have responded to the villagers appeal to stay at that location, but go to another venue within Lethem.
However, it seems that every time the government moves within its legal mandate and responsibilities to provide support to the people of Guyana, it is misconstrued as an electioneering ploy. This is a sad commentary on how much the APNU/AFC alliance cares about the welfare of the Guyanese people.

Robert M. Persaud, PPP Executive Committee Member