Think seriously before placing your ‘X’
THROUGH MY last two articles, I sought to outline a few of the programmes and policies which, over the last five years have propelled Guyana to a place it has never been before, in terms of development of physical infrastructure and its advancements in terms of democracy and governance. And today on the eve of yet another free and fair election, I would like to give some thoughts on how these advancements have led up to this moment and their significance to this elections period.
It might be said that the incumbent usually will have an unfair advantage over those in opposition in putting forward a case for why they should be re-elected. But taking this view into consideration, the incumbent must and should put forward what it has done, in addition to what it plans to do, as a basis to be judged upon by the electorate.
I have already expressed my view in one of the previous articles that knowing President Bharrat Jagdeo in a professional capacity for the past 19 years, I have come to gain respect for his drive for betterment of the people  and of his intolerance for non-performance. While I have compared Jagdeo to the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan, I will repeat what I said at the opening of the Enmore Packaging Plant back in May this year, that President Jagdeo is the best President Guyana has seen, no disrespect meant to Comrade Cheddi who unfortunately did not get the opportunity to serve out his full term.
His visionary leadership has not only resulted in tangible benefits for the country but has raised the profile of Guyana disproportionate to what our small size should be.
If one were to use the President’s last term in office as a barometer to measure how well Donald Ramotar will perform as the next President of Guyana, then as has been said ad nauseam during the PPP/C campaign, “the progress will continue”.
And as I have expressed in an earlier article, I am disappointed that members of the opposition and certain sections of the media cannot ascribe credit where it is due. In a democracy, one must be able to express a disagreement while acknowledging the positive and progressive things that have taken place.
I hold to the belief that the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) is a visionary initiative that will bring benefits to the country and help it to prepare for the onslaught of the effects of climate change.
The Berbice Bridge is another example of what has been achieved during the last term of the Jagdeo Presidency, the benefits of which cannot be discounted. If one needs a reminder of how important and vital the bridge is to our economy and society, just hark back a few years ago, circa 2008, when people in their vehicles waited for hours sometimes half a day to cross with the ferry.
The President’s One Laptop Per Family project and the drive to instal a fibre optic cable from Brazil will not only propel Guyana into the technological future, but will also be a vital instrument in the development and delivery of education along with improved delivery of Government services.
As I said previously, when these elections would have come and gone, there are certain areas in which I would like to see pacts made between our politicians and the society at large in which certain issues are agreed to transcend partisan interests and politicisation, an example of a crucial area would be crime.Our lawmakers need to be unified in being what they are elected to be, on the side of law and order because any failure to do so emboldens criminals. Further, the Guyanese people have suffered enough from horrendous criminality in the past 10 years for there to be any equivocation on this issue.
The same goes for national security and national sovereignty, both important areas where there should be oneness of voice.
Guyana has made long-term investments in order to secure, from an early stage, the future generations and the welfare of the country.Government is today spending more money on education (one of the highest in the developing world) because it is of the view that this is one of the soundest investments any country can make. It is widely accepted that in this increasingly advanced world, it is the educated who will rise above the challenges in terms of being able to develop the resilience by using their skills to work for the betterment of themselves, their communities and their country.
Government’s spending in education, health and housing has grown tremendously over the years, an indication of where Government is placing emphasis and spending taxpayers’ money.
As I said and find worthy of repeating, critics of the Government cannot seriously dispute the progress that has been made in these areas over the last 10 years and even more so the last five.
On the eve of elections 2011, I would like to appeal to the electorate to weigh carefully the things you see around you and what people say to you. Truth, facts and figures are sounder foundations on which a decision to vote could be based, rather than the issues that appeal to the emotions and are often times subjective and based on perception.
So, as ‘E(election) Day’ draws near, I ask: Why would it be a wise choice to let progress continue?
And the answer is simple: Progress is all around us; and it will continue.

Manifesto Issues
The information provided in the various manifestoes created some difficulty in attempting to provide this comparison. Readers should therefore be
cautioned that this exercise only seeks to show how similar are the various activities as far as practicable. The comments provided in the status/Ongoing
Activity column reflect ongoing or implemented government programmes or activities from the PPP/C manifesto.
This matrix provides a snapshot of the policies and programs stated in the manifestos of Alliance For Change (AFC) and the A Partnership for National
Unity (APNU) in comparison to the programmes and policies implemented by the PPP/C Government over the years and highlighted in its present
manifesto.

Time and space did not permit acomplete analysis to list all the programes of the AFC, APNU and the PPP/C.
This articledoesnot represent the viewsof Chronicle.