Dear Editor,
In the last general election the people of Guyana spoke in no uncertain terms, indicating they will not loyally put up with the government’s management of the economy. They want greater accountability in how scarce financial resources are spent and they have done it by reducing the government’s power to easily pass fiscal matters brought before the House. The people have given the opposition the prerogative of holding the government to account.
Our national budget engaging the attention of the House is a case in point, and demonstrates the fact that nothing will come easily for the government, which is getting frustrated at the opposition’s shenanigans. They cannot understand why such a professionally packaged, seemingly developmentally friendly budget is not readily accepted by the opposition. Why can’t they (opposition) see the light for a new Guyana? The answer lies with the PPP/C; they are the ones who got us here. In the first place, they failed to be the party they used to be – a people-friendly group which people trusted to get its business done. Through the years, that great party has grown too accustomed to that blind faith the people had in them, and with that comfort came an arrogance that is apparent in most of the agencies set up to deal with people issues.
This is the same mistake the PNC made while in office; they believed that the rigging machinery set up by them was impregnable, and whatever circumstances they would still be in office. Their seemingly impregnability was their downfall when people power booted them out of office. The same must be said of the PPP/C; they have lost touch with the people who mean so much to them. They callously disregard the many writers who gave them sound advice on this and the people themselves who sounded a fair warning on November 28, 2011. That should have been a wake-up call for the party, but it continued on its merry way regardless.
Some in the party may question these comments and say, look at the many things the government is doing for the people. This is precisely the point: doing for which sections of the people? The people in Region 6 who mean more to the party than those anywhere else are shunned and brushed aside as being the usual grumblers, but who will vote for the party come election day. This is a cardinal mistake if a snap election is called, I dare say. The President will be very sorry if he did that. You cannot tell me that by breezing through in air-conditioned comfort, without stopping to have a handshake with a constituent is grounds to say that you know what the people want; or that some arrogant minister’s refusal to listen to a humble person’s viewpoint rather foisting his own on them will make things run smoothly. You cannot understand someone’s needs or his point of view by doing this. I am not saying that you have to honour every point put forward by the people – far from it. What I am asking my government is just to lend a caring, listening ear; that’s all it takes. It seems like the party in government has lost that touch. I urge them to get back on the beaten path and practise those tried and proven methods that will make governance a more pleasant experience than the calling of an election which is almost certain to give the same results or worse. The worst case scenario seems a greater possibility.
Yours faithfully,
Neil Adams
