THE BIG PICTURE

Oct 11, 2013 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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After maintaining a low-key presence since the end of his presidency in November 2011, Bharrat Jagdeo returned to the political spotlight last weekend with appearances as one of the speakers at two of the rallies held by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to mark the 21st anniversary of the return to democracy in Guyana.
But the message of the former President at those rallies is not likely to find traction with the party’s supporters, and may in fact become increasingly irrelevant. While acknowledging the grievances of the party’s supporters, he urged them to look at the “big picture”. In fact a great deal of his focus at the rallies was about the “big picture”, the overall development that has taken place in the country which could be threatened if the opposition is allowed to get its hands on political power. Thus, the supporters were asked to look at the “big picture”.
Of course that is what the PPP has been telling its supporters for 21 years – “look at the big picture.” These supporters have sent back their own message to the party’s leaders. These supporters have answered by saying that they have been looking at the big picture, but it does not seem to be looking back at them.
That big picture has shown progress in the country, uncontroverted progress. All have also benefitted from that progress. But for a government which emphasized poverty reduction as an economic objective, these supporters have seen a certain class gobble up most of the wealth that this progress has created. They have seen the large tracts of land on the
East Coast which have been given out to friends and cronies. They have seen the increasing gap between rich and poor.
The communities of supporters of the PPP have been neglected and this grieves them. These supporters, therefore, are not open to this chit-chat about looking at the bigger picture. They do not want to look any more. They have been made onlookers for twenty-one years. They want their grievances fixed before they look at the bigger picture.
When these grievances are not fixed, the supporters of the PPP vote with their feet by staying away en masse from the polls, and also from the rallies of the PPP.
The PPP mobilized extensively for the rallies held last weekend and yet at Lusignan, despite hundreds driving up to the rally site, they were barely able to scrape just over two thousand persons, many of whom were children. It was the same at Tain. No wonder the PPP leaders on the platforms looked out on the gathering with worried looks.
The concern about the turnout was all the more worrying because there was extensive mobilization for these rallies with activists going house–to–house in areas contiguous to where the rallies were being held. These residents were urged to come out. The activists know, first hand, what reception they got.
The leaders of the party need to speak with these activists who will tell them the very opposite of what Bharrat Jagdeo was saying. The people are no longer interested in the “big picture”. They want the small things addressed, and addressed immediately.
The people are not stupid. They are not fearful of APNU returning to power. They know that the mathematics will never allow this. The people know that the party with the largest number of votes always wins the presidency and the PPP will not lose the presidency. But unless the grievances of the people continue to be ignored, then the PPP will not have the majority it wants to push the other “big picture” that has been painted and waiting to be unveiled.
That other “big picture” depicts the major projects which the cabal within the leadership of the PPP so badly wants to become a reality. These major projects will each cost billions of dollars. But while the government is spending billions on projects which may not even create jobs for their supporters, they are awarding grants of one million dollars each to develop community grounds around the country.
This is what aggravates the people. One million dollars cannot fence a playfield. Twenty-one years ago, even fifteen years ago, it may have been able to do so, but not today. The cost of building material has hit the roof, so much so that the poor can no longer afford to build even a dog pen-sized house.
Since 2005, food prices have been increasing. The cost of a tin of powdered milk which the poor are forced to use is now around $4000. The cost of chicken is now over four hundred dollars per lb. A few years ago there was a big uproar when the prices spiked to $300 per lb. Today consumers would celebrate if the price dropped to that level. Snapper is over $300 per lb and at times is even more expensive than chicken.
The prices of almost everything have increased and yet wages are being kept relatively stagnant.  Does the government know what it costs to fill the lunch kits of poor children? The cheapest soft drink is over $100 and that has to go with something substantial if children are to be able to have a proper meal while at school.
Yet the former President wants people, despite the grievances that they face, to look at the bigger picture. While the people know of the importance of those big projects that are so important to their leaders, they are making a statement about what is important to them and their vote.
By staying away from the PPP rallies in their numbers, they are indicating that these small grievances must be addressed, or at least there must be a commitment to addressing them, before these supporters will bother with the bigger picture which the leadership of the PPP, looking out from the balconies of their mansions, sees all so clearly.

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