Dear Editor,
As the elections are upon us I would like to share my reasons why I will not be voting for the PPP/C on Monday, November 28. (1) I do not want to suffer the indignity of making sacrifices to give my children an education and then watch them struggle to get a proper job; (2) I feel that it is because of poor management that the PPP/C cannot make the people of Guyana happy, a country virtually the same size as the UK and with so many natural resources. Look at the UK today with a population of nearly 60 million. (3) The PPP/C boasts how Guyana is only using four per cent of its revenue to service debts. So with almost all the revenue staying in this country how come Public Service employees cannot enjoy a working wage and pensioners are given next to nothing? (4) The PPP/C is confronted with so many allegations of corruption and misconduct and they never agree to an enquiry to clear their names. The reason is obvious. (5) In first world countries like the USA, Canada and the UK it is common knowledge that the government of the day is the servant of the people. A citizen can take the government to court if he is not satisfied with the road on which he travels. Guyana is the opposite. It is well known that anyone here who speaks out for their rights against the government is victimized and marginalized by the state. This classifies the Guyana Government as less than democratic and as dictatorial.
Prior to the last election the Amerindians were not given the opportunity to develop their own lives and were thus forced to depend on a Santa Claus approach by the government. The African-Guyanese who voted PPP/C, especially in Linden, did so out of fear that they will be further marginalized. The Indian-Guyanese simply voted out of ethnic solidarity without considering the consequences for themselves and the rest of the population. So the PPP/C did not win the last elections because they performed well; what they did was set the stage for the people to continue living in poverty and insecurity.
In conclusion I believe that the PPP/C cannot provide a good standard of living for the people in terms of lowering the cost of living, creating jobs and providing security, so their modus operandi will be to build stadiums, sell house lots and give out gifts so that they can campaign on these for the elections.
Every single voter now has an opportunity to fix Guyana by voting for a change.
Yours faithfully,
R M Khan
