Pandering to the African Guyanese community

Dear Editor,
In recent months, there has been an inordinate attempt to pander to the African Guyanese community, as the real issue of facing an election which the incumbent clearly cannot win becomes imminent.
First it was the Buju Banton show and the issuing of free tickets to African Guyanese patrons to attend the show; then there was the visit to certain depressed African Guyanese communities by the Reggae legend, all in an attempt to garner votes from those constituents.
But the situation is still bleak, as that target group shows apathy towards the upcoming election; or voting, for that matter.
This is a worrying factor, a very worrying fact for the PNC, who are down at the ropes; so, in a last-ditch desperate move, they have called on their erstwhile counterpart, to see if he can get them through this one.
The PNC have again called on the services of Moses Nagamootoo, to see if he can revive African Guyanese interest in the PNC. So, in his usual style, he has announced that there will be free education at university level.
Now, Nagamootoo is again doing some fancy footwork, but this time in the ‘black’ community, hoping that somehow, somewhere, he at least can get the voters out on election day.
But this is a hard and heavy road to travel, because, for starters, they have gotten a stark rebuke from Buju, who told them that they cannot preach cohesion when the other races are left out of the equation. Second, and most importantly, Afro-Guyanese have grown wary and very suspicious of this “free talk.” They were burnt very badly in the last election when promises galore came from the PNC and the AFC alike, and those promises never materialised; so this time around would be no different.
This PNC-led Coalition is in great distress, because voter turnout in their main constituencies is at an all-time low, and it seems nothing can change that perception in the people’s minds. In this regard, their target group has rebuffed them yet again.

Respectfully,
Neil Adams