The PPP/C is a Government that cares

Dear Editor,
I vividly remember, as if it were yesterday, when this dark-skinned lady came up to the corner of Robb and Camp Streets to vent her frustration at the seemingly tardiness of the Ramotar Government in the disbursement of the cash grant. She was at the time speaking to her friend in loud belligerent tones, “You know dis man Ramotar ain’t give me dem children money yet, you know?”
Now, I thought I was just about to hear another juicy piece of gossip about the President at the time having an extra-marital affair and having reneged on his financial arrangement with the woman. However, my suspicions of the President were cleared when I learnt that she was talking about the “Because We Care” cash grant, and not of a deadbeat father.
No sooner had she left the scene than the lady selling confectionery at the corner turned to me and remarked, “Mister, you see these people? Look how she going on, like Ramotar owe she something. That money she talking about is Government money, you know, and she making so much noise for it.”
The lady further explained that the woman in question was the common bar fly, and the cash grant would definitely be going towards the purchase of party garb and the usual accessories, like getting her hair and nails done. She was absolutely sure that money would not be channelled into the welfare of that woman’s 6 kids.
And here’s my point: the incoming PNC-led Coalition at the time found this a convenient mantra to lean on, and like the sanctimonious gangsters they are, promptly took it away from the children. They branded it an election gimmick by the PPP/C Government to get votes. But as much as they might have looked at all the misdeeds of that partying mother, we must not forget that this was income for the single family.
We should not nitpick, but look beyond hair and nails and take into consideration the greater good, wherein the children would have benefited from the cash grant because that money was income for a struggling household.
But lest they be a judge over the mother, try turning the searchlights inwards: at the PNC at the helm of Government, and you will soon see a total change in their outlook of life. I am talking about a drastic change in their tastebuds. Their affinity for expensive foreign liquor was the order of the day. Like Bishop Edghill remarked, that same money used in the purchase of expensive wines and spirits could have been slashed, and the proceeds channelled into the welfare of our children.
But the PNC thought otherwise. They saw giving back to our children as being a burden on the state.
The good book says if you deny the little ones, it is better for you to tie a millstone around your neck and throw yourself overboard. The PNC did just that when they stopped the cash grant to the kids. From the very time they denied the kids their rightful due, their days in office were numbered.
In my view, they lost the elections based on these factors.
The “Because We Care” did two important things: (a) It ensured that the home got much needed income, and (b) It ensured that the kids stay in school. These things, put together, saw an investment into the future of our country.
The PPP/C have long since seen the importance of our children, and have reinvested in their welfare. They have reinstituted the “Because We Care” cash grant, as well as increase its giving from the initial $10,000 to $15,000. Let this country move on.

Respectfully,
Neil Adams