And there it was – a promise that few thought could be kept – but it was signed, sealed and DELIVERED!! Your Eyewitness is talking about the PPP/C’s promise in their 2020 manifesto – and on the hustings – to deliver 50,000 house lots to that many Guyanese by the time the next elections rolled around in 2025. They didn’t phrase it like that, of course, just a bald timeline of getting the job done “by 2025”. But let’s face a few home truths as we canter down his electoral path, shall we?? Politicians are in the business of getting into office – or getting power, and they do this in all sorts of ways. Some, like Bouterse over in Suriname or Traore in Burkina Faso – stage coups. But that ain’t quite kosher, innit? It’s like playing Russian Roulette – you never know whether the coup leader gonna be benign like Troare – or a rabid dictator Idi Amin!!
But here in our dear old Mudland, we have this arrangement called “democracy” – where wannabe leaders campaign trying to convince us to choose them through an arrangement called “voting”. Kinda like picking straws when we were young – save here the straws are pieces of paper on which we indicate our preferences. So what’s the incentive for voting for one leader over another?? Now in the real world people vote for particular leaders for all sorts of reasons – their looks, their being from the same group, and so on.
But in democracies we’re supposed to select leaders based on their plans to develop the country – which of course, includes the voter who wants to enjoy that development!! These plans are put together in a single document and called a “manifesto”. And it’s here that we come to the manifestos – which are pretty much promises being made to do things within the time frame mentioned – usually by the time the next elections rolls around!!
And at that time, a new set of promises will be made in another manifesto. So do voters just vote like automatons?? No siree Bob!! They’ll be looking at the track record of the leader at keeping promises. You know…the old saying about “fool me once – shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!” And we come to the importance of that PPP promise to deliver those 50,000 house lots by 2025 in their manifesto!! It was kept!!! And is gonna build credibility when – come September – they come around with their new manifesto asking for your votes!!
Now this isn’t the PPP and PNC’s first rodeo, is it?? Over the years they’ve earned reputations – the PPP for keeping their promises; the PNC for not!!
So guess who’ll win??
…credentials
In the new world developing as the US and China duke it out – and companies stream outta China like bees from a hive on fire not to earn Trump’s ire – countries are rushing to be seen as ready to host those businesses. Look at how far Vietnam’s come from that phenom – they’re #2 in exports to the US!! So how’re we doing in this particular financial sweepstakes after the PNC had destroyed our “commanding heights of the economy” – leaving no incentive for anybody to develop the skills to run modern businesses.
We got some serious catching up to do!! But the PPP/C’s been putting their shoulders to the wheel to get it done. From BIT to TVET to Apprenticeship schools and US technical programs was added the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) program in 2020 which provides tertiary training from Diplomas to PhDs!! This year another 9,179 persons were awarded scholarships bumping the total to 39,000 – almost doubling the 20,000 promised.
Another PPP promise kept – in spades!!
…justice for Adrianna
It’s said “for want of a nail, a…war was lost”. And in the case of young Adrianna’s unfortunate death, the RCMP investigator pointed out “for want of a thorough search of the pool” we ended up with a global firestorm.
