Volda Lawrence reinforces she and the PNC only support some people

Nov 01, 2019 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

Any worthy political party will always provide solidarity and support for any citizen, supporter or not, when that citizen suffers a tragedy. This becomes, not a choice, not an option, but an obligation and duty when that political party is in control of the government. The title of government confers a responsibility to work for and to support every citizen, whether that citizen voted for your party or not.
A popular business place, a bar, was heavily damaged by a fire two nights ago. Everyone that suffers a loss, whether because of fire, flood, robbery or any other means of destruction, deserves our solidarity and support. Even though the particular business was a bar, some called it a rum shop, the owner or owners deserve our sympathy and any support we could provide. It is in this context, we must commend Ms. Volda Lawrence, the Chairman of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and a leading member of the APNU+AFC coalition, for showing up with a sizable cheque to help the owner of the Guinness Bar in Georgetown to rebuild. Political parties and their leaders must be quick and ready to lend support to a citizen.
Admittedly, it is a little jarring seeing the former Minister of Public Health, who just recently appeared at an event promoting healthy lifestyles, including the message for people to not smoke and not abuse alcohol, proudly trying to ensure a bar survives. But was it not just recently that David Granger chastised young people for imbibing in alcohol at the Guinness Bar and other bars? These mixed-messages do not help. I suppose Ms Lawrence forgot that message, as she seeks political support among young people who regularly visit that bar. APNU, AFC, the PNC are clueless, always giving out mixed-messages, blinded by political opportunism. Even more jarring, however, is that this commendable support for a citizen comes amidst major trauma being suffered by other citizens who have been totally abandoned, not even recognized.
Just a few days ago, on the night of Diwali, four families, including pensioners, became homeless on the East Bank Demerara because a fire destroyed their homes. They were not business owners, they were poor people. In fact, at least, two of the families were single-parent families. Last week, a poor family with seven children lost their home because of a fire on the Corentyne. These are just the most recent fire victims. In fact, this year alone, dozens of families across Guyana lost their homes because of fire. Some of these people were consoled by family and friends, by neighbors and, sometimes, NGOs showed up with some help. For many of those victims, it was encouraging to see political activists and leaders from the Opposition PPP visiting and offering support.
When these poor people are affected, one common thread is the government is missing in action (MIA). For this reason I often dub this government an “MIA government”. Watching Ms. Lawrence proudly presenting a cheque to a businessman in Georgetown forced me to ask where was Ms. Lawrence, the PNC, APNU and AFC when these other poor people suffered because of fire? Was it these people are seen to be PPP supporters? It was not wrong to provide support for the Guinness Bar, but it highlights the far too numerous times that citizens have been abandoned by their government. No one asked that the PNC finds money to help these poor people, but the government’s resources must be utilized to help any citizen in need.
Even as Ms. Lawrence posed for a photo-opportunity at the Guinness Bar to show she and the PNC care, there are hundreds of residents and farmers in Region 5 who continue to suffer from devastating floods resulting largely from the negligence of the government. The floods of this week are only the latest floods that have battered these poor people, causing damage to their residential properties, farms, with significant losses of crops, including rice and cash crops, and livestock. These floods also caused loss of farmlands since much of the arable land used for agriculture in the area cannot be cultivated for, at least, two years. People’s livelihoods have been affected. They need help. Yet, not a single government official has shown up in the past and in this most recent flooding episode. In fact, one of the senior PNC activists and officials in the area deny these floods are real. While the General Secretary and the PPP Presidential Candidate are constantly on the ground offering support and demanding the government takes responsibility, the Government is MIA. Neither Ms. Lawrence nor her leader, David Granger even acknowledges that these people are suffering.
But Ms. Lawrence in the recent past did confess their posture in governance is that the PNC (APNU+AFC) is in government, not for ALL GUYANESE, but only for “PNC people. She had confessed her only “friends”, her only “people”, are PNC people. Only “her” people, meaning PNC people will get their attention. Here is another example of Ms. Lawrence and the PNC demonstrating how it works. We must be happy the owner of Guinness Bar got help. We must condemn Ms. Lawrence, the PNC and APNU+AFC for not recognizing the sufferings of other people, simply because they might be PPP people.

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

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