Dear Editor,

WHAT should a government do if it wants to be re-elected? The answer does not require any scientific analysis based on scientific theories, since any layman can provide this answer with great accuracy. Simply put, it must fulfill what it has promised in its Manifesto, since that is what got it elected.

However, experience would testify that it would be fatal to any government which feels that the will of the people can be taken lightly, and can be thwarted to satisfy its own personal agenda, once elected.

In any democracy, the will of the people is paramount, and this is what the APNU+AFC coalition has failed to recognise, and probably had placed too much reliance on its innate ability to rig elections in order to remain in power.

But times have changed, and ignoring the will of the electorate has resulted in their demise, which began with the no-confidence motion in December 2018 and culminated with the March 2020 General Elections. And despite many attempts to rig the 2020 elections, they failed miserably, and further damaged their already tarnished image in full view of the world.

The successful passing of the NCM was a graphic reflection of the will of the electorate through its representatives. It is a stark reminder not to mess with the will of the electorate.

As soon as the coalition assumed office in 2015, it became clear to the people who voted for them that they were not going to honour the promises made in their Manifesto; they became too busy with their selfish endeavours. Friends, families and favourites, and, of course, themselves, came first.

It was no accident that they completely lost sight of the people; literally. They kept out of sight from even their own supporters, and squandered the taxpayers’ dollars like there was no tomorrow. They got what they wanted, and they were hell bent on enjoying the good life, which, supposedly, was promised to the people. All their annual budgets presented each year contained the term, ‘good life’, but this became increasingly elusive.

The PNC and the AFC members and supporters came face-to-face with the inability of the Coalition government to manage the economy through strong strategic micro and macro socioeconomic policies.

The coalition was only adept at mismanagement and squandering of the financial resources which placed a heavy burden on the people, and destroyed the progress made by the previous government.

Their only solution was to tax the people deeper into poverty. It would have been erudite for the coalition to heed the advice given by Sir Winston Churchill – “I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”

I sat transfixed at the President’s outreach at New Amsterdam, and everyone was totally mesmerised by the deliveries from Cabinet members and the President himself which outlined the myriad of achievements of the PPP/C Government.

No one can doubt that the government achieved way beyond more than it had promised in its 2020 Manifesto. Each achievement can be easily verified. This is in direct contrast to the APNU+AFC coalition, which backpeddled on each and every promise in their Manifesto. This and the fact that the coalition attempted to rig the 2020 elections, and shamelessly claimed that they are in possession of Statements of Poll (SoPs), which provided the ‘evidence’ of a coalition victory began an increasingly progressive exodus of their members and supporters into the ever ready and welcoming outstretched arms of the PPP/C.

President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Vice-President Jagdeo had made it clear that in its quest for a ‘One Guyana’, each and every Guyanese from all races, ethnicity, religious and political orientation are welcomed. The ONE GUYANA bus is large enough for everyone, and no one will be left behind.

Today, the diverse crowd at New Amsterdam braving the torrential rains bears testimony that President’s Ali ‘One Guyana’ is bearing fruit, and the residents, including a sitting APNU RDC councillor, openly endorsed the President and the PPP/C. And as one former PNC supporter thanked the President for his vision in national development, he was adamant that the PPP/C has restored ‘hope, dignity and pride’ to the people of New Amsterdam. The President, in a fantastic display of his oratorical skills, made it abundantly clear that the PPP/C is not a seasonal party, and that ‘people place their trust, honour and dignity’ in a party which does not deceive them.
The APNU+AFC deceived their members and supporters, and now that the deception is a hundred-fold magnified, they promise that they will double and quadruple everything which the PPP/C government has so far delivered.

This is not only comical, hilarious, and outlandish, but screams of deception on a grander scale. I don’t think that even the utterers themselves can believe those grandiose lies again, much less the Guyanese public.

No political party in this country can boast about being multi-racial and can pride itself with its achievements during its tenure in office and its representation of the Guyanese people even out of office except the People’s Progressive Party/Civic. There will not be any in the foreseen future given the current progressive trajectory of this government and any ‘Johnny or Janey-come-lately’ can only make it stronger and no one will ever be able to replicate the exemplary governance of that party.

The results always speak for themselves.

Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf