A month into the election campaign, your Eyewitness’s eyes glaze over as he reads the promises being made by the Opposition parties about all the fantabulous things they’re gonna do for us – were we gullible enough to put them back into the seat of power come Sept 1st. Your Eyewitness firmly believes from his (admittedly cursory!!) exposure to the social science – and more so from his own (bitter!) experience that the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. So, for example, when he hears a speaker on the PNC stage in New Amsterdam promise they’re gonna be saving 25% of the NRF oil revenues, he literally choked on his coffee!!
The old folk wisdom says, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on ME!!” So, imagine if your Eyewitness were to let the PNC fool him for the thousandth time, what would that say about him?!! Lost his marbles? Gone soft in the head? This was the party that got the biggest windfall in our history up to then when sugar prices shot sky high in 1974!! Burnham slapped a levy on sugar profits so that the US$500M that woulda been shared with sugar workers and factory rehabilitation all went into PNC hands.
And this continued for years! So where did all that money go?? On Burnham’s hare-brained schemes, that’s where. Even when the schemes had some merit, “jobs for the boys” ensured they all failed!! Car assembly plant; glass factory; clay brick factory; quarries; cattle ranches; tilapia rearing – you name it; sugar money funded and Burnham devotees ruined it!! So, we ended the PNC’s first 28 years with US$2.1BILLION in external debt – and let’s not even talk about domestic debt!! The PPP inherited this in 1992 and took a decade to wipe it off!!
Now you’d think with that bitter experience (for us the Guyanese people!) behind them, when they were returned to office in 2015, the PNC woulda be a tad more prudent with our money. After all, they now needed our votes – unlike the past when rigging was their default position!! But no siree Bob!! While imposing some 200 new taxes to fleece us naked and swell the treasury with $992BILLION between 2018 and 2019 – they spent $1.2TRILLION while borrowing US$400MILLION externally and $93Billion internally!! This was “tax and spend” on steroids!! And they now promise to save from the oil funds?!!
Oh me Mumma!! When the PNC makes promises on money, Guyanese should run while securing their purses and pockets!! The irony, of course, is the NRF coulda been at least ten times larger if they hadn’t sold us down the river in Houston – when they signed that Oil PSA wid Exxon in 2016!!
Bun dem!!
…and keeping them
Now while the PPP ain’t no bunch of angels – you gotta admit they take their campaign promises quite seriously. Starting out by consulting with ordinary folks – as well with the usual suspects in business, labour and civil society – then putting it in writing in their manifesto!! So when we look at their last five years in office – with (oil) money in their hands for the first time – even if you’re in the Opposition wearing green – how can you say things ain’t better??!
Jobs? Exceeding the 50,000 promised, we’re forced to import workers!! Salaries?? Increased for workers in private and public sectors – not to mention pensioners!! The 50,000 houselots have also been exceeded – not to mention facilitating house construction through low mortgages. While sugar remains depressed, it’s not for want of the government trying!! In fact, the Opposition’s complaining they’re doing too much!!
Government spokesmen have conceded that corruption – almost inevitable when so much money’s being expended – exists.
We gotta insist they take condign action!
…on LGBTQIA+
While the pioneer countries on gay rights up north are retreating, Guyana has witnessed five of the seven parties contesting the elections adopting SASOD’s LGBTQIA+ Manifesto. Amanza and Simona’s new parties balked.
That’s all of five votes lost??
