Dear Editor,
It is no secret that the Alliance For Change (AFC) continues to suffer political losses across the country, especially in the Berbice area. The Whim fiasco was just the tip of the iceberg which demonstrated the party’s desperation to unearth any semblance of relevance.
During the 2015 election campaign, the AFC boasted of its support in Berbice and which it probably had to an extent. Capitalising on that, it used those opportunities to make numerous promises, particularly to sugar workers and rice farmers.
They were relentless in their efforts to convince of tripling the price for paddy and denied that it would collude with the People’s National Congress – disguised as the A Partnership for National Unity – to close some sugar estates there. They made it appear that they possessed all the answers to what many Berbicians might have been facing.
Some fell for the trap and voted for the AFC with the expectation of the promises made being fulfilled. Three and a half years after, not one of those promises has been fulfilled and the AFC itself is fast slipping into oblivion.
The reality is that rice farmers never got any of the increases promised and sugar estates were closed putting thousands out of jobs making it extremely difficult for them to provide for their families.
As a matter of fact, many sugar workers are still to receive their entitled severance despite numerous protest actions. It is only because of those actions, which brought shame, that the Government was forced recently to allocate money for the payments which, by the way, are still to be made. The fact is, the AFC is largely responsible for the economic hardships and sufferings that were inflicted on Berbicians since May 2015.
The AFC, without shame and any regard to the falsehoods it peddled especially in Berbice during 2015, came back to campaign for the 2018 Local Government Elections. That is not only blatant hypocrisy on the part of the AFC, but complete disregard and wanton disrespect for Berbicians.
All of their meetings suffered from extremely poor turnouts as people show that they will not be taken for granted by the AFC that not only failed to deliver any of its promises, but one which has no semblance of authority within the Government and which has now become irrelevant. That is why they resorted to actions like they did in Whim having realised that they have been rejected.
All for your
consideration,
Baldeo Mathura
