By SASE Singh; M.Sc. – Finance, ACCA.
Introduction
Critical Local Government Elections (LGE) are approaching, and provide a chance to act. Things that we took for granted, such as the appointment of the GECOM Chairman and the promotion of the Chancellor of the Judiciary, have been transformed into a “pappy show,” as unprofessional people attempt to impose their ways on the nation in their pursuit of a path that lacks integrity.
The policies of the Granger regime are being skewed more and more to serve a particular group; not necessarily Afro-Guyanese, but a particular class interest within that group. The teachers’ strike confirmed this position, as we saw the Granger regime abandoning mostly working class Afro-Guyanese women to instead divert the cash to make multi-million-dollar payouts to the small cabal that surrounds the regime; a cabal that is tied to the regime because of its ruthless ambition and its so-called “I” consciousness. This group that the Granger regime serves includes mainly ex-GDF and ex-Police officers — members of a small group within the PNC leadership, including their family members and business buddies.
These facts illustrate why young people matter more today. Team Granger promised them jobs in 2015, but has instead totally shut them out from the system. After three years, only the top three percent (mainly ex-military, top PNC leaders, their families and their business buddies) continue to be given wanton opportunities to draw the hog’s share from the Treasury, while the other 97 percent have to settle for the crumbs.
This teachers’ strike was a great awakening of a kind that Guyana has not seen in a very long time. That strike provided the reassurance that the Millennials are reading the headlines, are figuring out this great PNC swindle, and are ready to take action against those who are perpetuating the swindle.
From the graph below, the Millennials are now the largest voting bloc in the upcoming LGE, and most likely will be in 2020. They constitute some 46 percent of the voting population, and if the first- time voters are added to that pool, then those who choose to ignore them will do so at their own peril.
The youths of Guyana, who constitute close to 60 percent of the voting population, must step up and vote in these LGEs. Failure to vote would saddle young people with leaders like Patricia Chase-Green and Oscar Clarke, whose ideas are totally out-of-sync with their class interest. This is the time for the youths to sign on, volunteer to get the votes out, run as candidates for their respective groups; and if all else did not happen, JUST VOTE SOLIDLY FOR THE YOUTHFUL CANDIDATES!
My direct appeal to the youths is this: reject those who think they have a legal title over you because of your ethnicity. Let your vote speak to those who use race and ethnicity to control you, because racism cannot feed you. All that you want is proper representation. It is time to send a strong signal to those who were given a chance, like Ms Chase-Green, but failed to deliver, yet hide under the cover of “kith and kinism”. It is time for them to go, and if their political sponsors are not interested in sending them packing, then it is time to use the vote to show them “who is boss,” by voting like a boss. It is time to break ranks and vote for more youthful candidates to run your local government system, and this is not an attempt to tie you to any political party.
For example, I see no reason why 26-year-old Akeem Peter, who is a member of the PNC, cannot run the Georgetown City Council better than Ms. Chase-Green. After all, the standards she set were grossly deficient, thus it will not take much to remedy those.
Do you think Ms. Chase-Green is worried about the job situation among the youths? Do you think she is concerned about creating a city that is user-friendly to the increasingly youthful Georgetown population? Do you think she is interested in listening to you by quashing the Parking Meter Contract? Do you think that she cares if the market stinks, once she finds the millions of dollars to pay Hammie Green’s security bills?
CONCLUSION
All these relate to Town Council and NDC matters, and the more energy we can inject into the system at these levels, the better for Guyana. It is time for the young people to step up come November 2018.
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