Dear Editor,
In response to one Mr. Harry Hergash `How credible is Dr. Rose now as a messenger?’ (SN October 26, 2013), we do not have much to say except that we are happy to know that he is unable to dispute the facts outlined in our letter about the PNC achievements which speak to Dr. Rose’s credibility. From his few letters, we already know that he is a mouthpiece for the PPP. If Mr. Hergash is credible and wants us to take him seriously, he should address the massive corruption and bribery that are taking place right under his nose and at every level of the PPP government.
His inquiry as to why Dr. Rose changes parties is beyond silly to say the least. Mr. Hergash should know that unlike him, Dr. Rose is an independent thinker who is free to change his mind whenever he wants. Mr. Hergash who is a staunch supporter of the PPP is not happy about the many achievements of the PNC, especially when they are made public because he and others have used the PPP playbook and propaganda to tell their supporters that the PNC did absolutely nothing for Guyana.
He seems confused about Dr.Rose being a messenger. Yes, he is a messenger for the accurate and proper recording of the achievements of the PNC and would not allow some twisted minds in his party to change the course of history or say otherwise.
For Mr.Hergash’s sake, we want him to know the facts and we will set the record straight for him. In doing so, we will highlight the PNC achievements between 1964 and 1985 (21 years) and compare them to those of the PPP which has been in office for the last 21 years.
For the record the PNC is responsible for the construction of the Demerara Harbour Bridge, the Canje Bridge, the Soesdyke-Linden highway, the Corentyne highway, the widening of the East Coast highway to Plaisance (Rupert Craig highway), the UG Campus at Turkeyen, the President’s College, Critchlow Labour College, Guyana School of Agriculture, the National Cultural Centre, the National Park, the Bank of Guyana, and the Presidential Complex, among others.
In addition, the PNC provided free university education at UG, the National Service, Guyana Airways Corporation and four new municipalities at Corriverton, Rose Hall Town, Linden, and Anna Regina. The trump card of the PNC achievements was its role in the establishment of CARIFTA in 1973, the forerunner of CARICOM and Guyana as the first Cooperative Republic.
By comparison, the PPP regime has not achieved one tenth of what the PNC has accomplished but they have spent more than ten times the amount of the PNC.
The PPP built the Berbice Bridge, the National Stadium, the UG campus at Tain on the Corentyne and the widening of the East Bank Demerara Public road. In the midst of this, they have also built three white elephants—the sugar factory at Skeldon that has cost the taxpayers over US$230 million and is still not working properly, the Enmore sugar packaging plant which remains idle, and the dilapidated Supenaam stelling which has collapsed more than three times in two years.
And they are in the process of abandoning two more white elephants—the dried-up Amalia Falls and the unfinished Marriott Hotel.
These are the facts which Mr.Hergash admits are indisputable and should make them known to his PPPites who after 21 years in office continue to blame the PNC for corruption and the high crime rate.
Mr. Hergash said “I wonder what will Dr. Rose tell those many Guyanese who, on account of his persuasion at the 2011 election, voted for the AFC. Their votes have been cast and they now have to live with the decisions of the AFC until the next election whenever it is held, irrespective of how well or how poorly the AFC represents their interest.
They do not have the luxury of switching their casted votes in the way that Dr. Rose has switched political allegiance.” Mr. Hergash, please do not waste your time wondering because Dr. Rose did not tell anyone how to vote and therefore has nothing to tell to the voters. Maybe you did! We want to educate Mr. Hergash to the fact that Dr. Rose was never a registered member of any political party in Guyana, not the AFC, PNC or worst yet, not Hergash’s corrupt PPP and the records are there to prove that.
So for Mr. Hergash to say that Dr. Rose persuaded Guyanese to vote for the AFC and now they are stuck is patently false. Is he saying that Dr. Rose does not have the right to change his mind?
Yours faithfully,
Dr.Asquith Rose and
Chandra Deollal