Dear Editor,
Speaking at a session of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington DC, President Donald Ramotar called on governments to do more to “reduce poverty and inequality” because they “pose the greatest threat to democracy and security.” He called on leaders to let “poverty eradication be the historic task of our generation…” In a vacuum this is all noble and commendable stuff, but coming from the President of Guyana who presides over a nation where the World Bank estimates that 47% of the population are classified as poor (having less than $47,000 per month) and 29% are classified as “extremely poor” (most of the poor live in rural areas, with the majority of the extremely poor living in the interior), then one is forced to juxtapose the record with the rhetoric.
Even though Mr Ramotar can still be considered a fairly new President, he is not new to Guyana politics (having served for over a decade as General Secretary of the PPP) and his party, the PPP/C, have enjoyed political power in Guyana for nearly twenty years. The PPP/C in opposition, prior to 1992 was relentless in its criticism of the government of the day. One of their claims was that Guyanese were voting with their feet because the political and economic conditions were unbearable. Campaigning prior to the 1992 elections the PPP promised to put an end to mass migration, rebuild our education system, modernize our health delivery system, put an end to poverty and run a lean and clean government. Today, twenty years on and the record is still to match the rhetoric. Over the last two decades the PPP has shown by its policies and programmes that it does not understand (or it is incapable of doing) what is necessary to eradicate poverty in Guyana. Any student of government would tell you that a solid well-rounded education is the best long term solution for eradicating poverty. Yet the PPP has failed terribly in this vital sector. It is an undeniable fact that we are still unable to keep and attract well-qualified teachers. It is a fact that in the rural and interior areas of the country over 80% of the teachers are classified as “unqualified.” It is a fact that our drop-out rates are unsustainable and the conditions at most of our schools and our UG campus at Turkeyen are sub-standard and not environments conducive to learning. It is apposite to note that after the 2012 budget debate the PPP resorted to street protests over cuts to GINA and NCN, but there was no hue and cry over the paltry sums that were earmarked for the education sector. Under the PPP/C government, the gap between the very rich and the very poor has expanded astronomically; the armies of the poor that march the streets of the capital have swelled; people are still voting with their feet and their remittance dollars continue to be a lifeline for those left behind.
It is an embarrassment that in 2012 Guyana, we are a nation of black tanks as we struggle with a potable water supply; many rural, semi-urban and most interior households still have latrines; solid waste management is a joke and a public health time bomb waiting to explode and overcrowding is still the norm for far too many households.
Editor, I supported the APNU in the last elections because I believed that the PPP/C had failed to live up to its rhetoric, and it was time for change. The PPP/C over that period had abandoned its working class constituents and had by its policies and programmes created the conditions for perpetual poverty for some classes of people in Guyana. With the rich getting richer and no one advocating for the poor and working poor who deal with the uncertainty of five more months much less five more years, declaring war on poverty in Guyana should be the at the top of our national agenda. So I say to the President talk is cheap, but we will judge him by his actions and the actions of his government.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Archer
