Recently, the main opposition, APNU/AFC and its agents in the labour and trade unions have teamed up against the ruling PPP/C Government.

They are claiming, among other things, that the government is mismanaging the country’s oil and gas resources, and the people are not feeling the benefits of the projects and policies that are included in this national budget.

In addition to this, the opposition is taking the government to task by saying, each opportunity it gets, that the cost of living in this country is spiralling out of control. It also accused the government of not doing enough to control the people.

For these reasons, coupled with the allegations that there is corruption and lack of transparency, the opposition parties are up in arms and livid with the government. This is presumably why the opposition, led by Aubrey Norton and Khemraj Ramjattan are constantly nagging at the government.

On the other hand, some of the labour and trade unions are already crying out t00 that the government is not allegedly engaging in collective bargaining and not dealing fairly with the workers. So, the Guyana Public Service Union and the Guyana Teachers’ Union have sought to give the government ultimatums and have moved briskly to the courts, asking for various orders and reliefs to be granted.

Additionally, the Guyana Trade Unions Congress does not want to feel left out of the action. So, it is joining court action and fanning the flames of widespread protest against this government.
The bottom line in each case, is money and political power.

The APNU/AFC and its agents in the labour and trade unions want to bring the government down, stop the progress and development, and empty out the treasury through the backdoor using ‘foot on neck’ economics, blatant lies, and ethnic division.

Make no mistake about all that has occurred since this year began, the APNU/AFC is taking itself out of the limelight and is putting a sharp focus on the government. It has gone into the darkness where it is doing all the manipulation and causing the political confusion. It is also pushing and pulling the trade unions and the labour unions, which have allowed itself to become consumed with talking about money and not what is fair and practical.

This is all a shame. The opposition is launching their campaign, to attain the win at the next election, right before our eyes. The intensity and sharp focus on the government is not because the of the allegations of corruption and mismanagement, it is because the opposition is using some of the most gullible and innocent people in the war with the government.

It is clear to all and sundry, that this is no longer about the innocent people that the opposition parties claim to be representing and allegedly love, this is politics of collateral damage and opportunism.

If the government does not become more effective and efficient at its public relations and communications, it might not survive the constant and undue attacks politically from the opposition. The General Secretary of the PPP/C is fighting admirably every day and Thursday to be exact but he cannot do it alone.

The party must come up with skillful PR and communications gurus to handle Norton and his constant lies. They must use social media and weaponize it against the opposition in the same way that they do it every day.

The only difference is that the facts and truth will reach many people who are not readers of the news and are not in the normal news world. They need to get influences and bold young people to carry those narratives of the PPP/C. The party must have an effective social media and communication arm to rebuff the opposition narratives about what the government is doing, projects, oil and gas matters, and governance matters.

All of this is in addition to the commendable job that the government through the minister responsible Kwame McCoy, state newspapers, Guyana Chronicle, Department of Public Information, and the PRs are doing.

Added to that, a concerted effort must be made to talk sense into the teachers and public servants that they are being used, and when they serve their purpose to APNU/AFC, they will be discarded until the next election cycle. They are using the issue of economics and financial matters, which no doubt must be addressed, to cause labour stoppages and create interruptions in Guyana’s thriving economy.

They do not care that the cost of what they are asking for is unfathomable and not realistic but they are holding strong to their demands, and the courts are now involved in their political shenanigans. Teachers and public servants must wash themselves of these labour and trade unions because they are not representing their interests.

What do teachers have to show for their strike? Nothing but a bunch of politicians who sit as union representatives who can not negotiate. Let the government negotiate with a team of experts on behalf of teachers or public servants themselves or with teachers.

The issues about money, what is fair and working conditions must be taken in the context of the financial realities that exist. Guyana can ill afford to spend so much billions of dollars now and in the long run, not be in a position to sustain.

If Guyana wants to continue along the pathway of development and socioeconomic growth, practical decisions will have to be made. This means prudent economic and financial management so that the people of the country can have financial sustainability.

Finally, turning back the attention on the opposition, Norton and his party have not properly addressed the business of the scandals and corruption that is brewing right at Congress Place, Sophia.
While he and his close circle are away, a plot is taking shape right under their noses.

The schemes and thug of war to get him out are occurring right in Congress Place and within the bosom of the AFC. Khemraj Ramjattan could be scheming with his party members to get him out at the next congress of the party.

Also, Norton is bluffing the nation that APNU/AFC has a plan. He is doing what Granger did in 2011 – 2015 – fool the public about having a six-point plan and a development strategy for this and that. When Granger got power, there were no plans in place and the country’s government was left to function on autopilot.

None of their allegations of racial discrimination and corruption are sticking, that is why Norton and opposition politicians have become political grasshoppers. Jumping from one issue to another without achieving anything substantial.
The government does not look like will take the bullish attitudes of APNU/AFC politicians or the political shenanigans of the labour and trade unions.

APNU/AFC’s ‘foot on neck’ economics will not work. It is not allowing the people, more particularly the teachers and public servants to breathe freely and negotiate sensibly with the government.
The GTU, GTUC and GPSU and their executives are growing desperate for the oil and gas resources and money. If you look closely, one would see the veil lifted and the real instigator is the APNU/AFC, prowling for more victims to be used.