Dear Editor,
The PPP/C campaign arrives in Lethem this weekend and with it will come some of the biggest names of the party, all attempting to woo the electorate. There will be grandiose promises, most of which will most likely not be realized if they win this election, for they are extremely expensive ideas.
But they are not the only party doling out grand promises. The APNU was here a few weeks ago and did likewise. There were promises to make the Rupununi the breadbasket of the country; they were going to pave the road from Lethem to Georgetown and fix the ‘biscuit’ bridges; they were going to give every teacher a laptop, create major employment for the local people so they wouldn’t have to leave to go into the gold mines or Brazil, etc. These are all excellent ideas but they are nothing new. These ideas have been around for a very long time and these promises were made before by both parties who have ruled this country since independence.
To give credit to the ruling party, Lethem has most definitely seen major development within recent times. The GT-Lethem road became a reality under their watch. Likewise the Takutu Bridge and the much improved roads and housing schemes around Lethem. This would give them a major plus in their campaign. But some argue that the development has not been as fast as expected and that it is fraught with corruption and political favours. It is even argued that irrespective of which political party ruled Guyana during this period that this same development would have occurred – the opposition would argue that the development would have been faster while the government would state that the financial constraints have determined the pace of development – due to the rapid development in Brazil and its self-serving need to forge an alliance with Guyana.
The onus is therefore on the politicians to further expand on their development plan. It is not only to name these grand plans but to also highlight how they are going to be achieved. After all we are a poor country with limited financial resources. For example, don’t just tell the people that the road from G/Town to Lethem will be paved. Rather, give more details on how they’ll be able to finance such a large project.
As an undecided elector, grand promises will not achieve my vote. I would much rather hear some more details on how resources would be made available to finance such projects. For example, are we going to sign the Mercosur trade agreement with South America to increase trade, so that a paved road becomes more feasible? Or are we going to seek funding from the loan institutions? When information is revealed on how the resources are going to be obtained and how it fits in to the national development plan, only then will the true vision of the party be revealed. And this is what can sway the undecided voter.
APNU did not do a very good job of convincing the local electorate that their party would improve the livelihood of the Rupununi residents, because of the simple fact that their promises were grandiose but vague in terms of how they were going to be implemented. I am not convinced that their ideas would be better implemented than those of the present administration.
Now it is the PPP/C’s turn of doling out the long list of promises. It is sincerely hoped that they back up the promises with some tangible ideas on how this ‘poor’ country would be able to achieve the resources to make these ideas a reality. The same goes for the AFC whose rally will be held shortly after that of the PPP/C.
Another point of note is that the APNU rally was held in a dignified and disciplined manner with no name calling or degenerate comments about the other parties. It is only hoped that this atmosphere continues when these other political parties visit Lethem.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
