Although convinced that Change Guyana could have benefitted from an earlier start to its electoral campaign, its leader Robert Badal is optimistic that enough voters will give the party an opportunity to represent their interests in the National Assembly.
In a final appeal to the electorate, Badal yesterday urged voters, especially the poor, to use their voting power and give his party the opportunity to represent them.
“My comfort is we have done our best. We feel we have a responsibility to make that change. I believe the message is there but then our people have to take responsibility. You vote the same way, you get the same results. I knew it was going to be short but I know I have faith in the electorate,” he said yesterday at his party’s last scheduled press conference before next Monday’s general and regional elections.
“I believe, and the reason we got into this is, we want to provide that viable choice. It was always PPP/C or PNC and because there was no credible choice, they [the people] voted along racial lines… There is one common thread: people want betterment. What has blind loyalty done for us? Do not let the… coalition make beggars out of us,” he added.
Badal said that he believes that extreme poverty has led some people to believe that a particular party would help them although they don’t realise that they already have the power to choose who will implement the policies and programmes needed to holistically lift the country out of its socio economical rut.
“In the midst of abundant resources, Guyana and its people are poor… The sense of hopelessness has paralysed the people of this country [so] that they feel they have to rely on a party to survive,” he said.
“The poorer sections are the most affected, yet they are the ones waving flags and putting garlands [on politicians]. They have been so beaten up and made hopeless that their voting patterns in electing … visionless leaders unconsciously make them architects of their own poverty. Today the choice is not PPP or PNC/APNU as they are two sides of the same coin, incompetent, corrupt, [and] visionless. Their actions are guided by self-interest, not the interest of our people. The real is the superior, rational and viable policies and plans of Change Guyana,” he added.
He added that he wants voters to know that Monday’s elections will be a defining moment in this country’s history and that the two major parties—APNU+AFC and the PPP/C—offer no real change as the country has gone through decades of suffering under their leadership.
“Your choice would determine whether we continue the racially divisive and destructive politics and betrayal of the past five decades under the PPP and PNC/APNU or charter a more constructive path of inclusive accelerated development. Your choice should be influenced by who has the vision, capacity, and honesty, proven record of successes and love of country to lead us into the future. The option offered by both the PPP and APNU is one of big, expensive governments, high taxes, crime, blackouts, poor healthcare and poverty. Their display of mismanagement, incompetence and corruption has made our country among the poorest in the region,” he said.
“Today our youths cannot find jobs, and migrate to find opportunities denied [to] them at home. Our bauxite, oil and other resources are given away to others without much contribution to our people. Our leaders put their individual interest and that of their foreign friends in front of the people they are elected to serve,” he added.
And as he reflected on his party’s manifesto, Badal said that Change Guyana “brings a new vision to transform our economy and put Guyana among the league of progressive countries.”
“We have creative and innovative policies and plans for addressing the problems of crime, blackouts, poor healthcare and joblessness. We will dismantle the extortionately high level of taxes to give all better control of their income, stimulate investments and ensure value for money on every taxpayer dollar spent. Our policies will drain the swamp of corruption to release billions of dollars for development and social programmes,” he further said.
And because he grew up in rural Guyana and knows firsthand the deprivations a life of poverty brings, he believes that he can share the skillsets needed to ensure that others have the same opportunities to progress as he did. “With hard work, persistence and an ability to address problems I have achieved significant successes. In the process I have contributed to the lives of more than 500 persons who I employed, and that of thousands of poultry, rice and coconut farmers around Guyana. You can trust me to bring the same successes to your life by addressing the seemingly perennial problems of crime, joblessness and blackouts. You could trust me and my team of Change Guyana to renegotiate the lopsided oil and gas contracts, and get better value from our bauxite, timber and other resources for the economic upliftment of all Guyanese,” he said.
“There is a better Guyana which you and my team can build if only we work together. Your responses to our visits around our country have inspired and strengthened our commitment to this mission,” he added.
