Let us all look forward to the opportunity to change our lives

Feb 18, 2014 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
Looking ahead, it seems unlikely that the PPP government, given that it did not actively engage the Opposition in the planning process of the 2014 budget, will present anything close to respectability for passage in Parliament. In the event that there will be a need to go to the polls for a referendum, with the formation of a new government, a number of important issues need to be clarified.
As Guyanese, we must understand that voting is a very serious matter which, as has been shown over the last twenty years, has lasting effects on our lives and those of our children.  When we vote, we choose which government we think can deliver the best for us in all spheres of our lives.
The government we vote for should at least provide us with the following: The opportunity for better, higher paying jobs; increasing number of good jobs so that our children can find work when they graduate from school; a government whose officers and ministers are not looking to get rich with bribes and kickbacks off of every project designed to increase our welfare; a government which manages our taxpayer dollars properly, getting rid of contractors who make a mess of projects which result in the waste of hundreds of millions of our hard earned money.    These, at least, are what the government we vote for should be capable of providing.
I have written in the past (both KNews & SNews Jan 10 & 22, SNews Jan 31/14) highlighting the deprivation the present government has inflicted on many Guyanese families.  I also pointed out that they made many poor people poorer by handing out house lots to these poor people, who had to borrow in many instances to pay for the lot, sending them great distances from their places of work, so that they were now worse off as a result of higher transportation expenses for both themselves and their children.
Many Guyanese, children included, have endured the basic deprivation of not having enough to eat.  They have been forced to endure this because the government they voted into power for the last two decades did little to provide more and higher paying jobs.  We were therefore unable to earn more during those years lost.
Many children have also been robbed of a proper education, vital to getting higher earning jobs in the future.  These children, now adults in many instances, to the extent that they were unable to improve or further their education, now find themselves battling for a daily living to provide for themselves and their children.  Many Guyanese have also walked tremendous distances daily in order to make do with the little we earned.  We each have our story to tell.
I encourage us this year, if the opportunity does present itself, to tell our story at the polls by voting against the entrenched corruption of this government and the struggles they have forced us to endure, while they continue sucking this country with their underhanded dealings, expanding their properties and buying cars to their fancy, preaching that Guyanese should be satisfied with the pittance that they struggle with on a monthly basis.
I wish to make it clear that Guyanese do not envy or covet the copious living standards of their government officials.  All we want is the opportunity to be able to get a job which provides an income that allows us to live at least comfortably taking care of our children. Something, after twenty years, this government has been unable to provide.
Our politics has historically been tainted with charges of racial and political violence by the contending parties. It is important for our political parties to steer clear of these strategies going forward. Our parties need to be emboldened by the plan they have for Guyana, how it works, and where we fit in.
APNU has presented itself as a viable option as a government for our future.  Guyana should by now understand that the ills that besieged this nation under the PNC were an unfortunate result of trying to govern the country under socialist principles.  The PNCR, as we now know it, has discarded socialism and has embraced capitalist ideology, where the private sector, not government, is the mainstay of economic activity.
In government, APNU, of which the PNCR is a member, will work with the private sector to increase investment and create more and better paying jobs for us all. APNU will also put an end to corruption and bribery of government officers – currently a heavy cost to businesses and private persons.
It is known that our country can hardly move forward without cheap electricity.  This will be a priority for APNU immediately upon being elected to government, and will be key to attracting large investments in manufacturing, which will create jobs.
APNU will also meet with stakeholders throughout the country in an effort to ensure that all regions, villages and towns are put on track to economic viability, where every capable man and woman will have an opportunity to earn enough to live comfortably.
APNU’s government will continuously interface with the private sector and all stakeholders to ensure that their concerns are being addressed in a smooth, efficient manner. APNU is a party for all Guyanese, embracing all Guyanese, irrespective of race, color or religion, because as Guyanese, we all deserve a fair share in our country’s wealth and opportunities.
On a final note, I wish to caution us on the wiles, scaremongering and terror tactics of the current government, inciting fear among its constituents for African Guyanese.  We all know that without politics, all our races will live in peace and harmony, enjoying each other’s cultural differences, from our food, to our cultural and religious holidays.  I shouldn’t have to remind us of the curry, black-eye and split peas cook-up, puri and roti, soup, pepperpot and Chinese food we all share with each other.
We therefore need not be scared or terrorized by the political machinery of the PPP. Indian Guyanese have nothing to be scared of African Guyanese, and vice versa. Let us all look forward to the opportunity to change our lives and those of our children this year at the polls.
Craig Sylvester

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