Dear Editor,
It’s election time once again in Guyana, and every 5 years, new political parties are birthed, offering the Guyanese public new visions for socio-economic development. However, one common thread can be discerned, and that is the compelling desire to get rid of the PPP at any and all costs, and this takes precedence over all the other ‘visions’. Another common characteristic is that these parties are more willing to coalesce or support the PNC rather than the PPP. Why?
When the PPPP and the PNC are compared, it’s like comparing ‘chalk with cheese’ since the differences are overwhelming. The PNC, in various shapes and forms, have continuously destroyed the social and economic fabric of this country: hunger from extreme poverty, mendicancy, prostitution, immorality, banditry, murder and loss of family values, unemployment, rising prices and high cost of living and daily erosion of the living standards, poor roads and falling infrastructures, increased taxes, school dropouts and falling education standards, poor health services and dilapidated and ill-equipped hospitals, massive Government bribery and corruption and squandering of public funds; the list goes on.
These atrocities and human degradation are well-documented and not a figment of one’s imagination: imagined, invented or fabricated. These are real, and any Guyanese who have lived through these periods have had first-hand experience. Even those born from 1992 would have witnessed the difference in governance by the PPP/C and the PNC, especially the period 2015 to 2020 under the PNC and its partners and from the latter part of 2020 to now. These comparisons have now enabled Guyanese to make informed decisions about whom to vote for, and the answer is obvious. The worst period was from 1964 to 1992, and after 23 years of rebuilding by the PPP/C, the PNC and its partners continued where they left off in 1992 from 2015 to 2020.
The PPP has remained resilient and increasingly progressive, engaging daily in nation building, whilst the other parties are more interested in sharing the number of seats. What is amusing is that whilst the ‘dead meat’ AFC and the dying PNC are busy fighting over ‘imaginary’ seats, their executive members are busy defecting and even forming a new political party which claims to ‘Forward Guyana’, having failed to condemn the attempted rigging of her former party and the riggings from 1968 to 1985. It would seem that even if the AFC and the PNC had coalesced, they would have had very little to share.
What about the party which claims, ‘We Invest in Nationhood’? This party is so presumptuous that its acronym suggests ‘WIN’. When the top ‘WIN’ officials are analysed, it is conclusive that they came from whence they made little or no contribution and were more interested in what post would be given to them. But what is disgraceful is that they collected all that the PPP/C had to offer them and then packed their luggage and unceremoniously departed, cursing that same party. If a genealogical test is done, it would probably indicate nomadic qualities, so we cannot blame them. It’s just who they are. I know that one for sure is more interested in stirring controversies to be in the limelight – he just loves publicity. Unfortunately, this party is founded on the need for vengeance against the PPP/C Government, whom the founder feels has been instrumental in getting him sanctioned by the US or has abandoned him, having been close to that party at one point in time. Similar to Nagamootoo and Ramjattan, he too has his little axe to grind, and the country is not a priority. When will these petty political aspirants learn that the country comes first over personal hate and ambition? Mr Azruddin is cognisant that he does not stand a chance of winning the presidency, but he will be willing to gamble on getting a seat or two which he can use to extract his pound of flesh. However, this is wishful thinking since the PPP/C, from all indications, is heading for a massive landslide victory, and this would leave Mr Azruddin a bitter person for the rest of his life. Why would a patriot who believes in ‘investing in nationhood’ be carried away by the lust for revenge? This is not how we invest in nationhood.
Everyone, including Mr Azruddin, knows that the PPP/C is the only party which has been consistent and serious about improving the lives of all Guyanese both socially and economically through its micro and macro policies.
Every other party, old and new, has miserably failed the Guyanese people, and the AFC was only successful in getting the PNC again into power in 2015 (not unlike the UF in 1964) and then became the PNC before being discarded and dumped. What will Mr Azruddin offer? Free houses, cars, land, big cash grants and other freebies? What will happen to the economy when he has created a country of dependents? Having a seat or two would hardly provide these but can leave the door open for other grave possibilities which can actually ‘disinvest in nationhood’.
In conclusion, third parties have failed Guyanese miserably and have only contributed to the devastation of this country and have only given strength to the PNC and allowed them to get back in power. It is time for Guyanese to do a reality check. Guyanese made a bad choice in 2015, and the damage was repaired by the PPP/C under the leadership of Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, but beware that in 2025 a bad choice may be irreparable and may take longer than 28 years to resolve, like what happened from 1964 to 1992.
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
