A recommendation for editors: Let leaders share personal manifesto

Jun 16, 2025 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

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Hard Truths…

By GHK Lall

Kaieteur News – Election season is upon Guyana.  Not quite in full swing, but always fascinating, with snippets of excitement to round off the festivities.  Presently, there are four known contenders.  The PPP, the PNC, the AFC, and the newcomer.  The latter may or may not have a team, as yet.

Regardless, I think that Guyanese voters are entitled to the clearest answers from each of them on the following questions.  With the exception of the new presidential candidate, the other three leaders/groups are known to different degrees, and with varying levels of familiarity, by the general population.  Nevertheless, they should all be treated the same.  Meaning that they should all be made to reintroduce themselves to all citizens in the frankest, most comprehensive manner.  The answers to the following questions would have much meaning for Guyanese.  From the disgruntled to the despairing, to the angry, impatient, and disgusted, many prospective voters want to get a fresh start, hear from those competing for their trust.  The questions that should be put to them in a Guyanese equivalent of Face the Nation, but the newspaper version of it.  None of those swift, sweet soundbites, nor what I call the heehaw braying on Facebook pages.  I urge newspaper editors to give them space to pronounce extensively on the following.

Who are they?

Why do they think that the Guyanese electorate should trust them?

What is there to recommend them that differentiates them from their opponents?

Where are they on the following 11 issues/subjects that seriously interest Guyanese?

1.     Poverty and its amelioration.
2.     Oil stewardship for maximum national benefit.
3.     Corruption complex and its demolition.
4.     National healing and long-term reconciliation, beginning now.
5.     Venezuela vision, strategy.
6.     Ethics and its application to leaders, members.
7.     Institutions and their independence.
8.     The Constitution: paramountcy, full compliance.
9.     Crime management.
10. Indigenous rights and dignity.
11. Minimizing fear of government.

I think those 11 issues possess the most relevance to the greatest number of Guyanese.  There is at least one issue in that batch that means a lot to some segment of Guyana’s demographic.  I repeat for maximum impact: an overwhelming majority of Guyanese may believe that all of those issues have some meaning in their own lives, and are of profound national importance.  To put it differently, Guyana is a broken, kleptocratic society.  Guyana is a polity where leaders are distrusted by many, including their own support base.  Guyana is divided and disjointed; the people are tired of party propaganda, leadership snow jobs, aka platitudes.  The undecideds in looming elections are watching and weighing which one of the groups, who among the candidates, offers the best opportunity to make a difference right now for betterment in their lives, that of their families, and their communities, and the future prospects of all three.  I think that a sizable segment of the Guyanese electorate is tired of being taken for granted.  Or as readily available targets to be made into fools by those talking up a storm in efforts to woo them at the ballot box.  Those who have a history of making fools of Guyanese are political leaders and the members of their groups.  No one or any group is innocent or excluded.

Now, it is just over a month to Nomination Day, and I think that Guyanese need to know the individual contestants and their groups much better.           Every one of them should jump at the opportunity to present themselves to the nation.  The mainstream media should invite potential politicians to address the 11 key issues I identified, with two to three of them addressed comprehensively each week.  The candidates and leaders, and groups must be ready to give the fullest details of how their policies on each issue would improve the livelihood of half of Guyanese families who live below the World Bank poverty line.   I listed the 11 topics above, and ask editors to consider these headings for each contestant to address:

• what is the problem?
• why is the problem serious for the poor Guyanese family?
• why is this a priority issue?
• why is it for me (contestant)?
• what is the needed policy upgrade?
• what would be the estimated cost and estimated financial benefit of implementation of this policy?
• which agency/Ministry would be responsible?
• what are the milestones?
• what would be their timelines for delivery? and
• what would be used to measure [positive] change?

I think that those 11 issues I singled out, incorporate the disappointments and fears, frustrations and anguish, and hopes and aspirations of the widest cross-section of Guyanese.  Hopes and dreams, though terribly bruised and battered, still have some residual shelf-life.  Think of it, editors.  All parties, all candidates should have a forum to say where they stand on the burning issues.  Leaders sell their personal manifestos.  The rest is up to the voting public.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) 

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• Election Guyana, GHK Lall, Personal manifesto, PNC, PPP

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