The politics of kite distribution

Apr 02, 2018 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The People’s Progressive Party has disgraced itself and embarrassed its supporters. The main opposition party distributed to thousands of children cheap and foreign imported ‘bird kites’.
The PPPC’s kite distribution was overshadowed by that the government who distributed a more expensive but substandard box board kite made from cheap greaseproof paper.
In this modern age when there are inexpensive colored cellophane paper, it was quite embarrassing for the government to be distributing kites made from cheap greaseproof paper.
The government went a step further. It has started to politicize kite-distribution. Even Burnham did not go this far.
The APNU+AFC ill-advisedly pasted pictures of the President on its kites, a cheap and vulgar politicization of the kite distribution. The APNU+AFC should not have involved the children in its attempt to build a personality-cult around the President by having children fly kites which bear his image.
But it was the PPPC’s bird kites that was more disappointing. For a party which draws such strong support from the business class, it was shocking to see the PPPC’s General Secretary distributing kites which bear a price tag of $300 each in the market.
Where were the rich businessmen who fork out millions to the PPP each election season? How come they could not contribute to ensuring fit and proper kites for distribution by the party they support?
These bird kites are not useless. They are very convenient. Many parents prefer them because they fly easily. They are very light and designed in a way which uses their aerodynamic shape to propel them skywards.
The bird kites can be flown by children of any age. This is unlike box-board kites which are not suited for very small children.
Bird kites have other advantages They do not require having to find ‘tails’ and then to determine the length of ‘tail’ which is needed for specific wind conditions.
The bird kites are like a fast food restaurant. You make a quick easy convenient purchase. However, the bird kites not substitutes for the box-board kites.
A party like the PPPC should never have found itself in a situation where it was distributing substandard and cheap kites to children at Easter. This is more so since the party found itself in competition with the government which was distributing unattractive kites, which even though made of cheap grease proof, was far superior to that of the government.
It is great embarrassment to the supporters of the PPPC for their leaders to be seen distributing such cheap kites. They could have called for donations of proper kites and they would have had a good response and a far better model of kite for distribution.
The PPPC will want to claim that while it distributed cheap bird kites, it could buy six or seven of these kites with the money spent on one of the government kites. But the PPPC did not seem to take account of the preferences of children.
Every child wants a kite. They may enjoy the ease and convenience of flying a bird kite. But they also prefer a wooden frame kite of what is commonly called a box-board kite. How is it going to look for some kids to be flying a boxboard kite and for the beneficiaries to be flying bird kites today?
The PPPC has no reason to complain about the lack of funds. The PPPC could have, long before Easter, have asked their supporters to each donate a ‘fit and proper’ kite for distribution to poor children.
The PPPC did this last Christmas. It asked its supporters for donation of toys and it got proper toys for children. The PPPC has lowered the bar when it comes to Easter.
The PPPC should be ashamed of what it did. It just shows the casualness with which it approaches issues which concern the masses.
The way it handled its kite distribution exercise is the same causal and thoughtless manner in which is handed out $10,000 vouchers to the parents of school children, when the party was in government. The PPPC was more interested in hand-out rather than addressing a need within the society.
Both the PPPC and the APNU+AFC should stay clear of politicizing the kite distribution process. Both should be more concerned about ensuring that eveyr parent cann afford to buy kites for their children rather than having to line up to receive free kites.
Kites should not be used for political purposes. It was utterly disgusting for the government to be placing the pictures of the President on kites which have to be paid for by taxpayers. It was poor judgment on the part of the PPP to be sharing out bird kites.

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The politics of kite distribution

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