Dear Editor,
I am from the Rupununi and the word going around is that people from the hinterland are going to face much hardship because of the recent budget cuts by the opposition parties. This information is being spread by government officials. The people have been told that the solar panel programme has been cut, the land demarcation of Amerindian lands has been cut, the fibre optic cable project has been cut, One Laptop Per Family programme has been cut and other such important programmes for the hinterland. These are all very important issues for the people of the Rupununi, and if what is being said is true then the opposition has done something very bad.
Is this true? Or is it just a misrepresentation of the budget cuts by government spokespersons?
The government is on the ground in the hinterland areas preaching the “consequences” of the action by the opposition and the people are accepting what they are saying. The people are accepting this because no one from the opposition has come to explain to the people what the budget cuts really mean, so they are accepting the government’s version.
Sometimes the people from the hinterland feel as though they have been abandoned by the opposition. During election time they came and made a lot of promises. Now they are nowhere to be seen and their local representatives don’t seem to be doing too much. Is the opposition so immersed with their activities on the coast that they have forgotten the hinterland people? Now they are being painted as completely turning their back on the Rupununi.
They are taking the fastest track to losing the small gains that they have made in these areas. Right now it is only the government which is doing all of the talking and they are portraying the opposition in the most negative light possible.
This is a warning to the opposition – Come and talk to the local people and explain your actions or else you will lose whatever gains you made at the last elections.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
