Jagdeo’s PPPC has morphed into the Republican Party

Feb 04, 2019 Letters

Dear Editor,
Freddie Kissoon is an individual with great influence in society. His columns and opinions are grounded in a unique Guyanese socialist perspective.
However what I find perplexing is his current position that he would not vote for the coalition in any upcoming election. He has cited a couple of reasons (I’m sure there are more) including the removal of Lincoln Lewis and David Hinds as columnists for the Guyana Chronicle and the continued cordoning off of downtown Georgetown whenever Parliament is in session.
I would humbly suggest that while these are/were not good decisions they should be taken in the context of what the coalition has done for working class people in the country in only a few short years.
The more one analyses Guyana’s political landscape the more one sees that the PPP/C has morphed into a version of the Republican Party in the United States – one whose primary purpose is to protect and enrich its patron, the business class, the wealthy.
Ever since Jagdeo took power, the purpose of government became about making money for these groups. That is why Bobby Ramroop got his exclusive contract to supply drugs to the Health Ministry and was a favoured investor in the Berbice Bridge.
We don’t need to take up space describing all the money making schemes and the sale of land on the cheap. Freddie knows them all and has been an outspoken critic. Additionally the PPP/C governments always turned a blind eye to the rampant evasion of taxes and customs duties because it enriched their base.
Since 2015 the coalition has done two things: firstly it has raised the minimum wage substantially from $39,570 in 2015 to $64,000.It has also increased the tax threshold from $600,000 to $780,000 per year. These initiatives have directly helped the working class by putting more money in their pockets and hurt the business class which now needs to pay workers more.
The coalition has also looked to make sure the business class pays its fair share of taxes, to contribute to the development of Guyana rather than just profit from it. It has made some progress bringing in $200b in 2018 compared to $135B in 2014.
But this has been the key reason the private sector – and its respectable face known as “civil society” – have viciously turned on this government. Just contrast how the Private Sector Commission in 2015 was against early elections, as to their current insistence on elections with ninety days.
The APNU/AFC has many flaws: its ministers are imperfect, some are simply not very good at their jobs. The coalition has missed opportunities (decriminalising marijuana for example) and made numerous mistakes.
But its intention, its mission to spread the wealth and to improve the lives of poor people must be acknowledged and compared to the PPP/C’s time in office and that of any future Jagdeo/Ali government.
It is a deeply scary and backward prospect as it pertains to the class struggle. The APNU/AFC coalition is the only group strong enough to stand up to the moneyed interests.
Yours sincerely,
Albert Russell

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