PPP/C did not put in hard work; they abused the State’s resources

Jun 16, 2023 Letters

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Dear Editor,

Contrary to the view of one of yesterday’s letter writers, PPP/C didn’t yield results of hard work, it was the result of abuse of state resources which gave it advantage over others.

For the local government elections, we have seen how State’s resources have been abused to give advantage to PPP/C over other contesting parties and candidates. The time is right for strict financial laws relating to elections be implemented. As it is, PPP/C will continue to abuse the Treasury to buy votes, and this will worsen come 2025.

The cash grant for schoolchildren is the biggest vote-buying scheme. Many times, one is left to wonder if the Minister of Education thinks everyone is foolish and that she is the only wise one. As reported in sections of the media, she claimed the cash grant was shared at a time convenient for teachers. This is the biggest lie. In fact, as a minister she cares least about teachers. She is only concerned about votes. For cash grant distribution, another learning day was loss for children. For elections, another day. For nomination day, another day. Does she really care about students?

The cash grant came 3 months early with the motive of buying votes. PPP/C is going all out to have complete control of Guyana. This is dangerous for democracy. With the playing field uneven, Guyana is set to become the next China, or a Middle East country, or Venezuela, where the leader exercise absolute control.

Under PPP/C rule, there is no distinction between party and politics. All government agencies have become political for the PPP/C. What is unfortunate is that staff who support other parties are victimized. This is a dangerous path PPP/C is setting up. It is for this reason the other parties’ rallies have been poor attended. Workers are afraid if captured, they could face repercussions at workplaces. In a difficult economic times, persons are afraid to take such risks. Even though, the constitution gives freedom, this doesn’t stop subtle victimization vis a vis promotion, etc.

Contracts: Many road contracts were issued days before election. This has dual purpose. It is meant to buy vote from the contractors and secondly fund campaigns. Through redistribution, contractors then finance campaigns. Many newbie contractors from New Amsterdam, Georgetown and Linden were visible at the many campaigns to pay the proverbial piper. Contractors will rally around because it’s their means of survival and money has to be made.

State Funded Outreaches. The President and his ministers increased their outreaches during the local government election period. While under the guise of doing the ministry’s works, supporters cladded in party shirts and other paraphinelia are always seen on these trips. The Ministry of Agriculture is the most visible in this regard. Of course, the State vehicle is used for transportation etc. Election reforms are necessary to curb these abuses. The President and Ministers should not be campaigning using any item from the State.

10-days workers’ scheme. This is another way of entrapment for supporters. Since this class of workers has no fixed job, they are subject to manipulation to do any work that the government wants. A PPP/C led government then uses them to attend meetings, assisting them campaign, and other party related task. In other words, they are paid under the guise of doing government work but in actuality, it’s a party work. Who doesn’t want to get $40,000 freely every month? As such, since it is a hire and fire arrangement with no strong institutional arrangements to represent any mistreatment, workers comply given the fear of being replaced.

Media: As expected, Guyana state media fails to understand its role. It allows itself, from administration to administration to be used as a puppet by the party in power for political works. This is much like Venezuela, Russia and China. Guyana is not far behind. Many private news outlets who get chunks from doing ministry’s work, now repay their masters by giving them more coverage time.

With oil revenue on stream, one has to ask if any oil company is funding PPP/C campaign. With money, anything can happen. In the interest of transparency and accountability, the above must be looked for good governance. Guyana has traditionally ranked relatively low for good governance, particularly in terms of corruption and transparency. It was ranked 93rd out of 180 countries in the 2020 Corruption Perception Index, which measures perceived levels of corruption in the public sector.

The Vice President wastes no opportunity at every press conference to lash out to anyone and any group that has a dissenting voice from his. PPP/C wants total control, from power to spend, to rule to even people’s opinions. We are living in dangerous times and without proper system for checks and balances, Guyana will become a dictatorship. The international community should not sit idle and allow our beloved country to sink in the dungeon of bad governance. When this local government elections are over, let’s get back to the real issue of holding ministers accountable for the Mahdia inferno.

Regards,

A. Khan

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• A. Khan, APNU+AFC, failure, General and Regional Elections (GRE), legitimate

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