It can be a historic time

Sep 01, 2025 Editorial

Kaieteur News – Today can take its place in the history of Guyana in a special way. It all depends on how Guyanese voters use the will of the people that rests in their hands. It depends, also, on how much their great national wealth means to them.

The world talks more about Guyana’s wealth than Guyanese themselves talk about it. Further, Guyanese voters have another situation to weigh, which we put in the form of a question. A succession of Venezuelan leaders has cast covetous eyes on Guyana, and they should ask themselves why. It is a big portion of national lands that men like Nicolas Maduro want, but it is more than that, and more than the abundance of mineral resources that is tilled into the remote interiors of Guyana. The oil stands out as the biggest prize that drives Western neighbours out of their minds. The unremitting focus of Guyanese must be on that oil and what has or has not been done for them with its billions.

In one sense, today is a referendum on oil. Who took it in their hands, and what they did with it? Who committed to giving heart and soul to do more so that Guyanese can get more coming to them? We took careful note that, in the mountain of promises made by those seeking that mark of confidence from voters today, how little oil featured on the talking points of politicians. Their manifestoes made fancy promises left, right, and center. But getting more from ExxonMobil for the national coffers and delivering much more into the pockets of struggling and disappointed Guyanese, it was merely a passing reference here and there.

It has been five years of collecting US billions for the nation’s oil, five years of withdrawing much of those US billions, while informing the voters now being courted that they cannot account for those US billions, as they are mixed up with some other money. Five years of withdrawing billions of US dollars, borrowing more US billions, then throwing a breadcrumb or two at Guyanese. Now, the whole bread and breadbasket are being put before citizens, and saying the next five years will be different, the next five the corner will be turned. This can be a historic day for Guyanese voters, one in which politicians are made to appreciate that they work for the people, are answerable to the people. Not the shams that voters have had to live with.

For those who like secrets surrounding how their business is handled, that’s their call. For those who want to stand idly for the next five years, with hands outstretched in anticipation of the next handout, that’s their right. For those to whom the call of their leaders (who misinform and mislead them) is all that they live for, and have no issue living like that for the next five years, that is their privilege, too. Citizens have been abused and insulted by politicians, citizens have been made into fools by politicians, citizens have been pushed around and called an assortment of names by politicians. Today’s election can be history making, because Guyanese voters get to show the world that they aspire, and have the will to live a better life.

A quick study of the past weeks of political campaigning confirms that the politicians are up to their regular tricks. They came calling in communities across Guyana with a fishing boat full of promises. They now know what the priorities for the various communities, different segments of the demographic, are. So, they walk with their greeting cards: there is something for everybody, lots of rich pieces of the national pie. The pie wasn’t that big, and the pie couldn’t be sliced so many ways all at once. Now the economic pie is so huge that even visitors and neighbors would have a piece of it, with much still remaining. They couldn’t find time nor money in the last five years (other than for their own). Now they click their fingers and wag their lips and out drops a million from both sources. Today can be a historic day. Voters must be sensible and sober. Voters must calmly register their discontent.

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Editorial, Elections, Guyana, History, voters

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