Dear Editor,
Stabroek News’s lead story in its Sunday, November 5th 2023 edition is a promise by the APNU of a ‘livable income for all,’ among several other things. Guyanese are expected to believe that there is in existence a grouping of political parties in the opposition operating under the banner of A Partnership for National Unity. Nothing could be further from the truth, as what we have is the PNC, a few appendages and what remains of the AFC. Secondly this promise of a ‘livable income for all’ is laughable given what we experienced in 2015 and the five-year period that preceded.
The APNU+AFC coalition promised much in 2015 then when it got into office what we saw was quite the opposite. They promised to create jobs, then turned around and fired 7,000 sugar workers and lost 30,000 jobs as a result of their incompetence. After telling Guyanese that “it is time to vote for jobs” in 2015 when they got into government, they said it’s not their role to create jobs and that Guyanese would be better off selling plantain chips and cook-up rice. This same APNU+AFC coalition promised a livable wage and then gave themselves a 50% salary increase within the first 3 months of its tenure in office, while public servants got next to nothing.
Added to that they then put VAT on water, electricity, data, education, medical services, and several food items. As if this wasn’t enough, they then raised over 200 taxes and fees, some by as much as 500%. Guyanese people are not stupid. Our experiences with the APNU+AFC are real and recent. We know that we couldn’t trust them to keep their promises in government and we know that we certainly can’t trust them in opposition.
Sincerely,
Anson Paul
