Voters can make reasoned and well-informed choices in electing a government

Dec 07, 2024 Letters

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Dear Editor

In an arena of political clutter, voters would once again be tasked with sifting through the rubble of propaganda babble to separate the falsities from actualities in arriving at a reasoned decision to elect a government – one adept at impartially managing the affairs of the country. In this arena of power seekers, seasoned and newly minted politicians will hone their rhetorical propaganda skills with intent on amassing support and actualizing their dreams of ascending into, or retaining governmental powers. In this arena where political candidates lob claims and counter claims against opponents – including personal verbal attacks – to influence public opinion, the electorate must be prepared to make reasoned and informed choices, for, in their hands, reside the ultimate power to elect representatives worthy of being governing executives. Hence, out of the bourgeoning morass of competing campaign promises – which most likely would encroach on the harmony of daily routines – the electorate must be able to sift through the clutter of propaganda claims to elect representatives best suited to serve in the people’s interests, and not in his or her self-interests.

To facilitate reasoned and well-informed decisions in choosing a government that best represents the people’s interests, the electorate is most likely to benefit from comparing – even rudimentarily – the performances of the current PPP/C and that of the previous APNU-AFC governments. Targeted areas worthy of comparison are those relating to health, education, and welfare, since the structures, functions, and relations of these societal institutions greatly influence and impact people’s daily lives. The following handful of questions almost certainly would benefit voters in making a comparative assessment of the PPP/C and APNU-AFC performances while each controlled governmental function.

Education: – Which Government during its four years in office: (a) built more schools? (b) Trained more teachers? (c) Raised teachers’ salaries? (d) Made university education more affordable? (e) Made technical education more accessible?

Health: – Which Government during its four years in office: (a) Built more hospitals? (b) Hired more doctors? (c) Made quality healthcare accessible to all? (d) Built more health clinics in outlying parts of the country? (e) Focused on developing a system of preventive health?

Welfare: – Which Government during its four years in office: (a) Helped more people in acquiring homes? (b) Granted more land for farming? (c) Improved safety and security within the country?  (d) Built more roads and bridges to facilitate travel and transportation? (e) Increased financial allowances to pensioners? (f) Promulgated policies that increased opportunities for gainful employment? (g) Made policy decisions that resulted in thousands of workers losing their jobs?

The primary objective of these questions is to encourage the electorate to tap into their lived experiences under the PPP/C and APNU-AFC regimes to arrive at informed decisions that enable them to elect a representative government in the upcoming 2025 elections. While not an exhaustive list, the questions, when honestly answered, will provide results that serve to guide voters desirous of electing a government with a proven record of serving in the people’s interest.

Undoubtedly, some politicians would readily argue that the policies/developments which facilitated improvements in the daily lives of Guyanese can be traced directly to income accrued from oil. While true, this calls into question whether the income generating contract negotiated by the APNU-AFC government – which accrued negligible amount of revenue – served in the best interest of the country as compared to the contracts negotiated by the PPP/C government?

Given Guyana’s ethnically segmented, and culturally pluralistic population, some politicians typically promote racial politics in their zeal to get themselves elected – as evidenced in the country’s history of electoral politics. Customarily, their methods of political proselytizing capitalize on appealing to, and exploiting, the emotional sensitivities of ethnically distinct population sectors. These politicians often focus on divisive politics of strife that downplays and distorts the realities of the people’s lived experiences. Hence, Guyanese of every ethnic, and cultural persuasions, should find this statement worthy of recall when exercising their voting franchises; “The only person who can fool you, IS you,” not the mesmerizing divisive proselytizing propaganda regurgitated by seasoned and newly minted politicians seeking control of the executive powers of the government.

Regards

Narayan Persaud, PhD

Professor Emeritus

(Voters can make reasoned and well-informed choices in electing a government)

(Voters can make reasoned)

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• actualizing their dreams, daily routines, political clutter, Voters can make reasoned

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