Opposition should engage in meaningful debate, foster development

Dear Editor,
The neo-Goebbelism tactics of the PNC and the AFC are once again surfacing with cries of racial discrimination, marginalisation of Afro-Guyanese, and extra judicial killings. Guyanese are plain tired of listening to the same old lies being rehashed with the creation of imaginary political links to the PPP. All of these lies were sold to the public pre-2015, but these Coalition ‘salesmen’ are just relentless in their villainous pursuits to gain power at any and all costs.
Guyana is never first!
The Coalition needs to come to terms with the hard, cold fact that a Government is elected by the majority, based on sound economic and social policies which foster a better standard of living for its people, among other things. The achievement must speak for itself.
Every Guyanese knows that the Coalition would never be re-elected for a second term because of its track record. Their ‘achievements’ are well-documented in the Auditor General’s Report and the Bank of Guyana Report each year from 2015 until the end of its term.
The Coalition knows that its re-election would never take place, hence the many steps taken to rig the 2020 Elections.
There is no racial discrimination, and this is clearly manifested when one looks at the distribution of the various cash grants, employment opportunities, developmental works in the various communities, and the equitable allocation of resources. The re-opening of the closed estates provides equal employment opportunities for all, regardless of race or political affiliation. I would like the Coalition to disprove this.
Further, at the last RDC Capital Budget proposal in Region 6, the Fyrish NDC, a PNC-controlled NDC, was allocated over $200 million, while Port Mourant and Kilcoy/Hampshire were allocated far less. Res ipsa loquitur – The facts speak for themselves. At the meeting to approve this Budget, the Coalition’s Councillors fully endorsed it, since each NDC received a fair share. No one spoke about discrimination.
This undeniable fact is mirrored in the National Budgets which ensure that each and every Guyanese and every community is treated fairly, and the resources are equitably distributed. Let the Coalition prove otherwise.
Further, if any person feels marginalised, then that is based solely on his/her choice not to work or to be engaged in gainful employment. Marginalisation in Guyana is more of a myth propagated by the Coalition than a reality. A man cannot want to party every night and want his life to be better. Those who are unwilling to make sacrifices do suffer. Achievements are born out of sacrifice.
During the Coalition’s misrule, inequitable distribution was the order of the day, as they ensured that their support base received the lion’s share of the resources.
The Coalition is once again propagating its ‘theory’ that extra-judicial killing is linked to the PPP/C. During its 5-year term in Government, the Coalition’s officers had all the opportunities available to them to prove this ‘theory’ correct, but they could not have done that. PNC members provided the worst excuse for this. They claimed people fear giving evidence against death squad members. One was quoted as saying, “You are not going to get people that easily to go and give evidence, out of fear. Don’t forget that a lot of people are afraid. You have to do thorough investigations and, hopefully, with improved investigative capacity etc, we would be able to deal with those matters and many of them which still exist”.
Why is it that the Coalition Government never used resources available to them to “improve the investigative capacity of the GPF”? The answer is simple; there was no link to the PPP, hence there was no need to investigate further. Does anyone think that the Coalition would have squandered an opportunity to prove this link? Absolutely NOT!
I fully endorse His Excellency Dr Irfaan Ali’s statement of finality when he said, “The propaganda that was used in the past about extra-judicial killing was dismantled.” It is time for the Coalition to sing a new tune.
The Leader of the Opposition and his team should engage their time and effort in meaningful debate, and give support to policies which foster the socio-economic development of our country. The Opposition should not squander this opportunity to prove to the people that Guyana is first, and desist from creating racial schisms.

Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf