Another edition of the elections goings-on by your favourite Campaign Observer. Serious election campaign issues viewed seriously. And humorously.
Give this feature a fair try. Cause these days if you don’t laugh, you may cry.
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Election Road, Election Bridge, Election Everything!
Years ago citizens – including “the electorate” living in neglected areas used to welcome State Visits by Foreign Heads of State. Because roads would be swiftly repaired and environments upgraded to mislead and impress the visitors. Of course locals welcomed the overdue upgrades and relief.
So it is at election time. Competing Parties – especially the governing, ruling, incumbent Party – would hustle to please long-suffering voters by providing electricity, pure water, boats, bridges, new roads. All that wasn’t done for years get done as Polling Day nears.
This feature can do no better than quote from a very recent letter to this newspaper sent by a Donald Ramnarine. He writes, in part:
Can APNU+AFC consider holding regular meetings so canal can be cleaned often?
Dear Editor,
The trench between a pair of parallel streets, Second Street, Cove and John, ECD, had not been cleaned for a long while. However, on Friday morning, a group of workers arrived and proceeded to clean one-half of the said trench.
An APNU+AFC campaign meeting was held that afternoon at a corner near to the cleaned half of the trench… If we are right, then can we ask the APNU+AFC to quickly hold another meeting at the other end of the street, so that the other half of the trench can be cleaned?
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Oily Campaign Promises…Like Peas
Some of us – even the many still very indifferent to politics, elections and campaigns – must still be sometimes distracted from stress by the Mashramani Jubilee celebration/events. Dance, music – chutney, calypso, soca – art, fashion, concerts all provide celebratory stress relief.
But nothing can beat the Candidate-Politicians’ Promises at this campaign time. Promises like peas! We Guyanese of all races and parties must experience the great life, whichever party “wins”. Have you heard these promises? New four-lane Bridge across the Demerara, cash grants (from oil revenue) for households with children. (Suppose you have no kids?), 50,000 new jobs, $40,000 Old Age pension per month, (another giant pledge), Change Guyana will put a final end to electricity blackouts – after decades!
We’ll end the parties manifesto promises right there. For without listing the promises regarding free education from nursery to university, new opportunities for our youth and new hospitals, if just some of the above promises are kept in the new Guyana Petro-State, the less-than-million population will emerge as a regional Kuwait or Dubai!
So close your eyes and vote for whomever catches your fancy. After March 2020 we should all win none will lose!
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Campaign Fashion Fuh So!
Wherever the ruling PNC/APNU got their funding from to distribute thousands of green jerseys and T-shirts, seems to have inspired another new element in this Jubilee Campaign. See the fashions in the PNC green – with a touch of AFC yellow on babies and young ladies? Skirts, tops, pants. Some dresses have His Excellency’s entire face on the front. The models were even careful where his, hair, eyes, nose and mouth fall on their dresses ho-ho-ho.
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Read – and overheard…
This writer actually heard – and – read – the following campaign tidbits:
“If dat party paying me to stay away from voting for dat sum of money boy I would tell them I will work from 7:00 am and vote between 6:00-6:30!”
“Even junkies and mad people wearing APNU/PNC jerseys!”
“PNC-APNU-AFC must seh de rallies and their campaign is now a movement. Dey moving thousands by bus every week.”
“You mean to tell me ’though I born here 77 years ago, de President could tek away me born-Guyanese citizenship because I turn a paper-documented American?” The senior citizen was quite concerned over the apparent threat.
An M. Maxwell wrote a letter alarmed that the Citizenship Ministry reports 26000 Venezuelans now in Guyana. “Dis government is inept at counting“ he wrote. “Remember 33 and 34?”
Until.
