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OVER-CONFIDENT

Jun 08, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

It is clear that when a government is over confident about victory in elections, it would behave as though there is no longer any need to listen to the people or address their problems. History is replete with examples of ruling elites whose over confidence have been severely punished by an electorate which they have taken for granted.
Such is the behaviour of the government. This is an awful precedence that will come back to haunt those in power, because with victory there is also defeat. The leadership of the PPP was a classic example of over confidence while in power for 23 years. Its over confidence led its leaders to believe that no matter how poorly they treated the people, they would win elections.
There is no compelling reason to be over confident and ignore the problems facing the nation. To the contrary, the government has every reason to address the problems facing the nation, given the extremely solid support it received from them in the last election. However, its promise to grow the economy, create jobs, improve the well-being of the people and bring the country into a level of prosperity that has hitherto evaded the nation seems to be stalled and perhaps is in limbo.
When in opposition, the coalition never ceased to pride itself on its willingness to listen to the people. It still listens. Ministers meet with the public statutorily one day a week. Then there are the community outreaches.
Meeting with people and listening to them is a norm.
The government has indeed addressed some problems facing the masses, with the possibility of winning over them in the electorate. While it is true that fulfilling its election promises to the masses will take time, it should not only be about pleasing the people.
Labour unions, the Private Sector Commission and non-governmental organizations have not been overly aggressive to the government. These are groups which, like the masses, can pressure the government to behave in a certain manner. But nothing will happen because many in the business community and in the unions prefer this administration because it is seen as the lesser of two evils.
The charges of corruption do not hang over this government as it did during the tenure of the previous administration. There is no fear of victimization and a desire to see a trained public service. Many appreciate the fair nature of the tender board.
The government has also started a programme designed to help the school child. Many have received bicycles; some have been provided with buses to take them to school free of charge; some have boats to get to school under better conditions. Then there are the meals programmes because some parents have problems with feeding their children adequately. In school, the administration is ensuring that all are properly fed so that learning can take place.
The government is indeed markedly from its predecessor but as is the case with politics, efforts are being made to paint the government with a universal brush—all governments are bad,
The government’s decision to pay the tuition fees for ministers has been attacked. Its defenders say that the previous administration did the same.
But in addition to paying the tuition fees of ministers, the government is giving precedence to the construction of modern infrastructures, especially roads and bridges to meet the challenges of increasing traffic congestion. It is improving the poor health-care services to prevent deaths from simple illness, and it is fixing the dilapidated structures at the University of Guyana.

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