The political mindset of the people is hunger for a different Guyana

Jun 30, 2018 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
Allow me to highlight some of the reasons the next election will decide the fate of the Guyanese people for a long period of time. Guyana as it is poised in the present moment is a country with a lot of regrets from its political history and as such, this period of politics is very critical.
Firstly, as we all know, the oil industry in Guyana will start playing a major role in her development. Fortunately, the next election is during the same year that the oil will start flowing; this presents an opportunity for political parties to demonstrate to the populace their strategic plans to deal with the new industry. They will most importantly have to explain to the people how the working class will benefit from the discovery of this resource.
It is a well-known fact that oil is a economy changer, but it can change it in the positive or negative. Our economy at this point is staggering and the stagnation is felt by almost all Guyanese. The economy under agriculture, natural resource and services for the past ten years has shown great progress, and the people of Guyana would wonder why an economy that was steadily increasing, according to international agencies, is now in its current position. This will lead to questions during this election time as to whether oil will provide overconfidence in an economical growth that was there before; the other sectors will be neglected and we fall into the oil trap that most developing countries have faced.
Secondly, unemployment, this is a factor that dictates how strong a government really is in the eyes of its people. Most government in the world work with business entities to make sure that the unemployment number decreases. In this way, the government allows the private sector to manage most of the employment but make provisions to avoid exploitation.
The young people, especially ones with higher education, expect that the government will provide the opportunity for jobs to be readily available after obtaining their qualifications. Governments have failed miserably in the past to provide the confidence in the younger population to make bold steps and step out of orthodox employment arena.
Agriculture is still a big market for employment and it is has not been fully utilized by administrations of Guyana. The usual agricultural products will have to give way to new ones if the profitability is not there. In the instance of sugar, a broad consultation was needed with the employees and potential owners of the industry before decisions were made on the closure of estates.
Both administrations of Guyana closed parts of this major employment source in the past without proper consultations and ways of expanding employment beyond that sector to include the affected workers. So the youths will play a vital role in this election period. At the end of the day, Guyanese will look to a party that will provide employment to enable them to provide for their families.
Thirdly, the major political parties have been the only options Guyanese had in the past. Both the major parties have to some extent succeeded and failed at the same time. The population will have for the first time in almost three decades to evaluate a 10-year period between these two parties and make decisions based on their successes and failures.
The next election will put both these parties to the ultimate test of what was presented to the people before and after previous elections. The people will be inclined to choose to vote differently if they are not happy with the results of their evaluation of the past ten years. This will present a lot of challenges for the candidates of these parties, and past political campaigning may not gain the same success as it did.
Guyanese are more open to move out of their comfort zones and vote for a different political entity. With this in mind, the candidate that will be fielded by these major parties will have to come up with different strategies to convince the populace.
The Guyanese population has more information available to them than ever before and this is a direct contribution from the readily available social media and internet. This is a time when every politician’s words will be up against facts that are available. The candidates of these parties will have to prove to the populace that their intentions are to promote the economy of this country and make people lives easier.
Lastly, the emergence of other political parties will segregate voting patterns and this is good for Guyana but it is terrible for the major political parties. It is good, in that our parliament will not only have MPs from the two major parties but from many more, and this will provide accountability for the people’s finances. There will be a viable, strong, independent, multiparty parliament and this will provide the Guyanese people with the representation they so much desire.
Formation of smaller parties will allow constituents indirectly to vote for their MPs and this will benefit Guyana as a whole. The next election period requires a multitude of choices so that we can have representation from the different regions of Guyana that are not aligned to the major political parties or from any one party.
The young people have shown willingness to make such impressive moves to create a better Guyana for themselves and their children. It will be a time of trial for the older politicians, because the last election has shown that the political mindset of the people is hunger for a different Guyana. They are eager to make their marks and to provide a better country for all.
As a result of this new culture that is blooming in Guyana, the next election will be critical in the history of this beloved land.
Yours truly,
Dr. H. Chand

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