An appeal to President Granger to get IPL 2019 on NCN

Mar 31, 2019 Letters

Dear Editor,

At the advent of the Coalition Government, a Ministry of Social Cohesion was created. Public expectation was high, given the degree of polarization that has plagued this nation even before independence. No one expected magic from this new ministry because this area is considered uncharted waters with the potential to be more chaotic than the Bermuda triangle. People saw the Ministry of Social Cohesion as all encompassing and necessary to the slogan, “the good life’, Prophesied by the coalition in its election campaign. In Its fourth year in government, “ the good life,” seems more elusive and retrograded beyond the status quo of 2015.
On the economic front, there is nothing to inspire hope. Thousands of workers lost their jobs. Those who have a job found themselves faced with a more austere tax regime by the spreading of vat on hitherto vat free items.
While all the ministries, with the exception of the Ministry of Social Cohesion, did something, albeit in most cases, that help to push “the good life” dream further into the abyss, they do deserve a mark for effort. I do assume they all had the best intentions. The Ministry of Social Cohesion remained pristine and unheralded for its lack of effort to attempt to do something of value or just anything that offers the people some semblance of togetherness.
Unity is the essence of social cohesion. It has long been recognized that the most unifying force to have graced our shores was the game of glorious uncertainty- Cricket. With the formation of a Ministry of Social Cohesion, with a mandate to foster unity amongst our people some fifty plus years after independence, one would have expected this ministry to adopt, promote and sponsor this most unifying force (Cricket) as a vehicle to achieve its objectives. Even the most unlearned can attest that performance of our heroes, local and of Caribbean origin, in the IPL has never failed to bring us joy and foster togetherness-the essence of social cohesion.
The IPL is the most sought after version of the T twenty game of cricket on the planet, revered by people of all walks of life in Guyana. The IPL fosters a unifying spirit among our Guyanese Brothers and sisters. For the government to sit idly year after year, while the IPL games can only be seen by those who can afford cable TV is seen as a cardinal sin orchestrated by the government on the poor. The continuous yearly failure of the Government to acquire the rights to have the IPL games shown on NCN so that poor people of all ethnic background can enjoy the games in the comfort of their homes is seen as a lack of vision or a deliberate attempt to lock the poor out, from enjoying any semblance of the promised, “good life”. The former govt, without a ministry of social cohesion, never failed to assist to purchase the rights for broadcasting the IPL on NCN, since the inception of the IPL to 2015.
No amount of publicity stunt like the recent” reach the people” show, could deliver more support to the coalition than getting the IPL on NCN. Getting the IPL on NCN will prove that the govt has an interest in uniting the people, a worthy investment.
It is still early day in IPL 2019. I would like to appeal to the president to do whatever it takes to get the remainder of IPL 2019 on NCN and if possible, for good measure, cull the ministry of social cohesion.

Rudolph Singh

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