THE MAD RUSH FOR RATIONS

May 07, 2015 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

I saw it in 2011 and I am seeing it again. The shoppers are emptying the supermarkets of Guyana as Election Day nears.
There are three types of businesses that do amazingly well at election time. The first is the advertising agencies which make millions from developing and placing political ads for the contesting political parties.
The second are the media houses which have to be paid for these ads. The third are the supermarkets which are swarmed by shoppers as Election Day approaches.
In the days to the run up to the 2011 elections, the lines in the supermarkets were long. The wait to cash-out your items was made longer because almost everyone had a full trolley of goods. People stocked up because they knew that after they cast their vote, they were not coming out of their homes for a long time. People are scared about the prospects of violence following elections in Guyana.
There is hardly any violence in the election campaign. But when the results are known, it is then that violence is possible. (There have been no protests since 2001).
When you are at home and do not wish to leave, you have to ensure that you have sufficient rations to tidy you over until things settle down.
This is the main reason why the supermarkets are emptied in the days leading to the elections. Some people say that things are bad in Guyana. Well, it is not bad enough to prevent people from buying as much food items as they can before Election Day.
In 2011, the lines were long and the trolleys of the shoppers at the supermarkets were overflowing with goods. I saw a man with twelve loaves of bread. I asked him whether he was having a sandwich party. He smiled and said, “I have a large family.” I asked him how large. He answered with a wicked grin.
The rich have a field day. Their pockets are long. And do they take pride in stacking up their trolleys with groceries! I feel sorry for the cashiers at the supermarkets. Their fingers must hurt at the end of the day. As fast as they can hit the keys of the machine, the faster the goods keep piling up in front of them.
I also feel sorry for the poor man. I remember just after the 2005 flood, there was a mad rush for chicken at the supermarkets. I saw this one poor girl trying hard to get a half pound piece of chicken while all around her the rich housewives were buying chicken as if there would be no tomorrow. This girl eventually got a piece of chicken but she looked odd cashing her half pound of chicken while the rich in front of her had tens of pounds of chicken each.
A lot of poor people suffer at times like these. They can only afford to buy a small number of items. They cannot afford to stock up rations. And so just after Election Day when the stores are closed and the supermarket shelves are bare of goods and prices rise, they feel the crunch.
No one finds it convenient to have to spend so much money to stock up in preparation for elections. And this is something that needs to end. People should not have to worry about what is going to happen after elections.
If the APNU+AFC coalition is serious about representing change in this country, they should try to encourage people to change their spending habits in the next few days. Instead of the whole country going on a mad rush to stock up on rations, the opposition parties should assure them that there will be no problems and that they need not go out there and spend two or three months of normal spending over the next few days.
It will be a great relief to the poor people of Guyana if they can have such a message. It will also be a relief to the rich folks whose larders will soon overflow. I cannot speak for the supermarkets.
A great many people are worried about what is going to happen after Monday. And they are not worried about the PPPC. They are worried about how the opposition parties will behave if they lose the elections.
If APNU+ AFC comes out tomorrow and says that they want peace after Monday and that they will work to ensure this peace, not only will it save a great many people a great deal of unnecessary spending, but it will also win a great deal of cross- over votes for the coalition because this will represent change for people.
The main fear that is gripping the country at this time, is not another five years under the PPPC. The real fear is what happens if the coalition discovers that it has lost the elections. The coalition should assure the people that Guyana will not shutdown after Monday.

Latest News

THE MAD RUSH FOR RATIONS

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | September. 30th, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Uncertainty clouds Golden Jaguars’ Head Coach position as...

Greaves makes history with magnificent 151* to...

Dominica’s Olympic champion Thea LaFond-Gadson...

Julien Alfred named finalist for World Track...

Junior Sinclair replaces Kevin Sinclair in the CG...

Hamilton Green KO Football Championship starts...

Features/Columnists

Fingerprinting and Finger-Pointing

Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all

Jagdeo the genius, genie- don’t ask what kinds

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

THE MAD RUSH FOR RATIONS

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | September. 30th, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]