Latest update April 7th, 2026 12:30 AM
If Benschop’s ego is big so is Duncan’s
Feb 17, 2016 Letters
Dear Editor,
It is refreshing to see two good men, Mark Benschop and Sherod Duncan, compete for Mayor of Georgetown. However, I thought it was interesting that Mr. Duncan, in his Feb 11 letter to KN, would say that the work that Mr. Benschop’s foundation has done,”is significant to the extent of the individuals helped but is of little importance if one were looking for CEO of a major city.” My first unfiltered thought was; is he joking? And if he’s not, then he probably has never gone hungry. From what I have seen and experienced of Mr. Benschop’s activism and advocacy for the disadvantaged and underprivileged, it is a great insult to minimise the help that people have received from the Benschop Foundation. As a candidate, I would gently suggest that Mr. Duncan carefully think of his choice of words and ensure that they are not ambiguous, as they can alienate those of us who know what it is to be dirt poor. Sometimes a plastic bag of food or an opportunity to learn a trade, like those provided by the Benschop Foundation, is the only good news some people experience in their day to day struggle to survive and make ends meet. What’s more, when it comes to election day, those experiences multiplied by a couple of hundred people, can go a long way in deciding an election.
Another intriguing observation made from Mr. Duncan’s letter was that the entire last paragraph of his rebuke of Mr Benschop consisted of an extensive quote on Mr. Benschop’s disproportionate ego. This, from a man who created, customized and donned himself in a superhero outfit! To be clear, for Mr. Duncan to don such a cloak was admirable and inspirational, especially since Guyana could do with a couple of more superheroes. The question then, is how curious is it that Mr. Duncan would attack Mr. Benschop on his immodest ego given that Mr. Duncan seems to have a hefty pair of cojones himself. A very superficial psychoanalysis would conclude that Mr. Duncan’s attack is just a matter of the kettle calling the pot black or the fussing about the speck in your neighbour’s eye while ignoring the plank in your own. That said, I hope these two gentlemen would elevate the dialogue of their rivalry where people can distinguish them based on substantive ideas and policies
Naicelis Rozema
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.