EPIC. Stunning, sweeping in scope and depth, something in it for everyone. I am not talking about Mufasa, the new Lion King movie. I am referring to Dr. Ashni Singh’s remarkable five-hour budget speech in the National Assembly two days ago. It was refreshingly brilliant on so many levels and for a mountain of reasons.

When the next generation of Guyanese comes along, perhaps, they can use Dr. Singh’s speech to critically analyse the nature of a dynamic social contract, the kind that the founding fathers of western political philosophy spent most of their academic lives theorising about. Social contracts, whether they’re called a campaign manifesto or an election platform, are the bedrock of vibrant democracies.

The theme of Budget 2025 is bang on – “A Secure, Prosperous and Sustainable Guyana.” We need to see these themes as moving points on a scale that measures social, economic and political impact rather than fixed line items in a budget. Those who discredit themselves by choosing to see only the latter are deliberately and consciously distorting a compelling political narrative.

To these naysayers – the false contenders and pretenders to power – the brilliant political theorist and Harvard professor, John Rawls, author of the influential “A Theory of Justice,” might be inclined to ask the following question: has the PPP/C expanded the scope of civil liberties for all Guyanese? Liberties such as the right to vote and stand for public office; freedom of speech and assembly, liberty of conscience and freedom of thought; freedom to hold personal property? The only right answer has to be a resounding yes.

Rawls might also have asked: in the distribution of Guyana’s sovereign wealth has the PPP/C been equitable without favouring a race, religion, gender or place of residence? The only empirically correct answer would have to be yes.

Recognising that some people are born with greater natural advantages or into more favourable social circumstances than others, Rawls argued that these inequalities can be justified and even permitted so long as they contribute to improving the prosperity of a nation. For example, the expenses allocated to train a doctor far outweigh that of training a farmer and yet both are vital to the health and economic well-being of a society. In fulfilling its fundamental obligation to manage and distribute public wealth, the PPP/C did everything it possibly could in the last years to present every Guyanese with an equal menu of opportunities. That is an indisputable fact.

When compared to political alternatives, whether it’s APNU+AFC or the flimsy string of lies that Big Oil’s lawyer, Nigel Hughes and the PNCR’s top boss, Aubrey Norton, are peddling, the least advantaged in our society have no other choice but to admit that they are much better off under the PPP/C administration. In Dr Singh’s reading of Budget 2025, he was compelled to remind his audience repeatedly of the stark differences in vision and purposeful action between his administration and the ineptitude of the Opposition.

Whenever Dr. Singh reminded the people of Guyana about an Opposition that continues to use political chicanery and barefaced lies to score cheap points with the electorate, he was heckled and shouted down in the National Assembly when he should have been applauded.

Dr. Singh began his presentation by stating a now obvious fact that no right-minded Guyanese can afford to forget. He did it on purpose. Five years ago, APNU+AFC orchestrated a brazen heist in broad daylight to deny the will of the people of Guyana in fair and free elections. Instead of admitting that it was a mistake and apologising to the nation, the lawyer who dreams of being president one day insists on defending those who stand accused of committing fraud.

APNU+AFC has given us a number of budgets between 2015 and 2020 that were cruel and inhumane and based solely on pleasing the interests of the wealthy and powerful in its coalition. Over 200 taxes and fees were imposed on farmers, miners, retailers and consumers that served only to strangle the private sector, draining it of $40 billion annually. Grants and subsidies that would otherwise help the least advantaged cope with a high cost of living were slashed. APNU+AFC took away $1.7 billion of cash grants annually from the parents of school children. They cancelled out $1 billion annually of year-end bonuses from members of the disciplined services.

In every sector, from jobs to health, housing to human welfare, APNU+AFC sent our society and our economy into a tailspin. APNU+AFC complain incessantly about GECOM, hoping that Guyanese would forget that in 2017 they defied the Constitution and discarded 18 nominees put forward by the PPP/C Opposition and unilaterally appointed a chairman of their own choosing.

APNU+AFC refused to respect the results of the No Confidence Motion passed in December 2018. They unlawfully enacted the flawed Natural Resource Fund Act in 2019 without involving the PPP/C. Guyana’s economy did not grow under APNU+AFC, it did poorly even as it was ramping up for first oil. Seven thousand sugar workers were laid off. The bauxite industry crumbled and 600 workers were out of a job. That’s not even the whole story.

Tomorrow, President-elect Donald Trump will return to the most powerful office in the world and the people of Canada, Panama, Mexico and Denmark brace themselves for what is to come. Whatever will unfold, I am relieved that the PPP/C is in office. I vote yes to “A Secure, Prosperous and Sustainable Guyana.”

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.