Still a chance left for APNU+AFC regime to come good

Oct 24, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The PPP was not able to convince 51% of the voting population that they should continue in Government because of the 28 years of PNC misrule. Fortunately, a new generation of voters who did not experience this and became witness to what the PPP/C government was doing became convinced that the APNU/AFC should be given an opportunity to govern. This came to pass by a one seat majority in 2015. It must be recalled that the PPP/C since 2011 was steadily losing their support base.
Influential persons from the PPP were also gradually leaving. At first, it was imperceptible. Then it became more open when Khemraj Ramjattan in 2005, followed by Ralph Ramkarran and Moses Nagamoottoo. But this masked the permanent dissention within the PPP itself and the many members and supporters who were leaving because of the corruption within.
These members and supporters in Region 6 especially, saw the corrupt practices of certain PPP officials who were in government offices and the PPP leaders who were willing to turn a blind eye to this. This is still going on in Region 6 by a few of them at the Tender Board and RDC level. These persons are already causing quite a few PPP members and supporters to leave. So while the Opposition is busy counting the mistakes and pitfalls of this Government they should take introspection into the haemorrhaging perpetrated by these Party officials.
There are a few who are like cult worshippers who cannot and will not question the destructive path the PPP is taking and has taken in the past. This includes some letter writers who are willing to ignore the fact that Jagdeo bankrupted Guysuco through the hare-brained Skeldon Modernisation Project. It has never worked and will never work.
Privatisation is the only solution and Guysuco must cut its losses. Amputation became necessary to save the ailing entities such as Rose Hall, Skeldon and Wales. I am sure at a later date; this Government will also understand that they cannot run Guysuco. Currently, the most efficient Estate is Albion and this estate will fail miserably to achieve its target for the year.
The Skeldon Project should never have been undertaken and since the EU price cuts were announced, the PPP government should have embarked on piecemeal privatisation of Guysuco. The country would have saved $200 million US dollars and an additional $60 billion in subsidy. This money would have been profitably invested into other agriculture sub-sectors and today there would have been no wailing and gnashing of teeth over job losses.
So while some letter writers are willing to point out that the APNU/AFC government is blaming the current state of the economy on the PPP/C when they were in government, they are rightfully justified in doing so. The current state of the sugar industry has greatly contributed to the present economic crisis in Region 6 and the PPP cannot be absolved from blame. The PPP thought that they would never be out of government. They were living in denial although the writing was on the wall. The 2011 general elections result was a clear warning of things to come. The 2015 election was not rigged and they knew that. Karma is a bitch.
The PPP also knew that the Venezuela, Petro Caribe rice deal would have ended since 2014, but they did not inform anyone. They could have made alternative marketing arrangements but they did not. When it came to an end in 2015, they blamed the APNU/AFC Government. They knew it was a yearly contract but that was never told. Just like sugar, they knew all along and made no provision.
The Venezuelan rice market was putting all your eggs in one basket, as it accounts for nearly 40% of rice exports. The PPP should have been looking for alternative markets. This is guile and deceit. This negative effect on the rice industry must be placed squarely on the PPP’s shoulder. They cannot absolve themselves from blame by parroting that the AFC offered the rice farmers $9,000 per bag for paddy. Until now the monies garnered from the Petro Caribe deal, US$500 million is yet to be accounted for. Who is to blame?
Since the 1960s, no new schemes were opened in the agriculture sector, that is, after Black Bush Polder. Apart from sugar the other agriculture sub-sector were starved of investments. There was only maintenance work done and the current falling infrastructures are the result of poor quality of work done and corruption at the Tender Board level. The PPP control Region 6 and their main support base is this Region yet they have failed to provide the much needed capital investments in the agriculture sector in this Region.
Should we blame this Government? The PPP failed Region 6 and that’s a fact which cannot be denied. Let them explain what investments have been done in Region 6 besides sugar.
I do hope the PPP can accept that they have blundered in more than one way and that this government should do some introspection in the ways in which they have now become accustomed to blunder. This government still has an opportunity to wipe out certain corrupt practices which had become second nature due to our long history of corruption- over 50 years. They also now have an opportunity to use the savings from the Guysuco’s subsidies and revenue from sale of assets to do some investments in the agriculture subsectors.
Muhammed Mustapha

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