Dear Editor,
It is with deep satisfaction that I read Christopher Ram’s comments on why we should not support David Granger and by extension the APNU/AFC Government in the upcoming elections. If we are looking for progress, the type initiated and continued by previous PPP governments, then Granger is not the way to go.
The first act of office of this government was to increase the salaries of parliamentarians and ministers, who were not asked to perform before being rewarded, while the public servants were not even offered the crumbs that fell off the masters’ tables. Inflation during the previous four years has skyrocketed due to increased taxes and duties on goods, more items attracting VAT, and increased transportation costs. These led to a new class of persons below the poverty line. It’s the working poor. While Granger and his cohorts are flashing new vehicles and fancy homes the ordinary Guyanese has to live below subsistence.
The back of the poor and working-class have been further broken with the $10,000 school grant rudely taken away, the pensioners robbed of their dignity by having the electricity subsidy removed, the Public Service workers insulted with a pittance of annual increase and in a number of instances delays in salary payments. The health care system has been compromised, with lack of pharmaceuticals and facilities in a terrible state. The Treasury has been raped and the surplus left by the PPP has been squandered.
Corruption is at its peak and the promise to wipe out imagined corruption has failed. SOCU and SARA, brainchildren of the Granger administration, set up especially to persecute former PPP members have failed miserably. The cost of this failure was exorbitant and it’s a slap in the face of Granger and his government. In opposition, Granger cried out for transparency but in Government, everything is shroud in secrecy. The manifesto of the APNU/AFC was left lying in the dust.
The Granger government was keen on closing sugar estates after promising this would not be done – part of the lies emanating from perceived promises. Entire families were left to starve and no recourse was available. Idle promises of diversification were made, while land was being confiscated. Sugar factories were left to decay and it’s only a matter of time before the scrap metal that once were factories, will be auctioned off to the highest bidders.
The failure of Granger to move the country forward has led to the rebirth of racial tensions
among Guyanese. The APNU/AFC is seeking to create racial disharmony in an effort to win votes next week, but Guyanese have learnt that this is old wives’ tale. We have learnt to live with each other in harmony and to judge each other by our character not by the colour of the skin.
Granger will fail at this also because he underestimates the intelligence of the Guyanese youths, who will no longer be divided but would stand tall together to achieve their dreams and aspirations of a better Guyana. They know success comes from creating jobs, building the infrastructure, having a strong private sector and eliminating crime. In each of these, the Granger government has failed, so there is no reason to vote for APNU/AFC again.
Investment by the local private sector has dried up. There is no trust in what is the Government’s next move. We have been sold out to Exxon, to the Chinese investors, and to the foreign conglomerates who enjoy tax holidays, while the local private sector is feeling the brunt of oppression. The playing field is not equal and there are rumours of the price for which we have been sold and those that are profiting from the sale. The Local Content Policy was never defined and the interpretation is so loose that it is being taken advantage of.
Our Constitution has been destroyed. Even the highest court in the Caribbean has been ignored.
Dictatorship has manifested itself like a serpent with a poisonous head. We must not allow this to continue. The fathers of our country established a constitution based on the roots of democracy and they must be turning in their graves to see it being tossed aside. While we celebrate Republic Day with pomp and ceremony, the dictates of the Constitution on which our democracy is built is being trampled upon. Granger commandeers an illegal government and continues to “govern” illegally. More and more, we are being engulfed in the tentacle of dictatorship. He is a titular leader, having the title and the honours belonging to the office without performing the duties, functions, or responsibilities. He hardly ever holds a press conference, discusses an issue or makes a decision.
A number of functioning entities under the umbrella of government have become redundant.
Go Invest is no longer providing the services it once did and investment by Guyanese have dried up. The CHP A has left areas previously identified for house lots abandoned while the agency is providing land for its friends and associates. The fiasco of GIPEX20 19 is well
known as it was dominated by foreign companies and was not a Guyanese endeavour.
We have young Guyanese who are not only capable but want the opportunity to display their skills on a fair playing field but the opportunities are not forthcoming. The First Nations have seen regression, not progression. The Ministerial skills are lacking and progress is impeded across the nation. Crime, murders and suicide have increased at an alarming rate with no end in sight. Change for the better was promised but instead, change for the worse has been achieved. APNU/AFC has been tried and failed. They should go out before more damage is inflicted. The time to go is now.
Sincerely,
Ronald Singh
