Guyana needs an honest, dedicated and committed coalition government

Dear Editor,   With the election date set for May 11, the presidential candidates of each party will begin the ritual of crisscrossing the country to make their cases to the voters. Although the president has broken all the promises he made during the last election, the nation can expect to receive many more empty promises from him in this election—all of which will be broken again. This president like his predecessor are famous for making false promises as they have already done in a full page add in Kaieteur news in less than 24 hours after his announcement.  In fact, during the last election the president promised to reduce crime and corruption, create 10,000 jobs and improve the lives of the poor and the working class, but after three years in office, crime has increased fivefold, corruption is at its highest level and has spread to all levels of government departments and state agencies, unemployment has increased from 24 percent to over 50 percent among youths, underemployment has reached 70 percent and the lives of the poor and the working class have gotten worse. Today, the poverty gap between the rich and the poor has reached an all-time high of 125 to one. All the PPP cabal has done is to blame the opposition for their failures and inept policies and to attack the media, especially Kaieteur News and those who expose their crooked ways, vulgar behavior and very poor track record. Guyanese must vote for a candidate with a genuine commitment to reduce crime and corruption, govern in the interest of all and serve and protect the citizens by taking the fight to the criminals who attack them in the safety of their homes and places of business.  But more importantly, that candidate must be seen as principled, honest and bold to go after the drug lords, white collar criminals and those business houses that rob the Treasury of tens of millions of dollars by selling products to the state at prices as high as ten times the market value as in the case of a certain medical supplies company that is owned by a good friend of the former president. The people must vote for a candidate who will reduce the tax burden on the working poor, increase wages and salaries by 15 percent and old age pension from $13,000 to $20,000 per month, reduce VAT by two percent, lower the toll on the Berbice Bridge from $2200 to $1000 for mini-buses and cars and free for motor cycles, respect labor unions and their right to bargain on behalf of their members, reform or amend the constitution so that no one, not even the president should be above the law—a candidate who will spend more money on programs that will empower and unite the people rather than fattening their pockets and those of their friends and relatives while starving the poor and the working class. The people must vote for a candidate who is committed to local government elections within 12 months of the date of the general election, respect the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, stop the marginalization of a certain ethnic group, and fulfill the promises made to the people in their manifesto. The people must not vote for a president who had promised them the moon and the stars during the last election but did absolutely nothing. Basically what the PPP did in the last election was to fool the people into believing that they have their interests at heart in order to get their votes and then abandoned them immediately after the election. Every promise the PPP regime made to the people became a broken promise. They have not reduced crime or corruption and did not create any jobs for the youths. They have desecrated the constitution, disregarded the rights of the people, ignored Parliament, violated the democratic process and has become the second worst dictator in the Caribbean after Cuba. This is the same hypocritical and insincere PPP regime that has criticized the PNC for being a dictatorial regime more than 20 years ago. Evidence of their hypocrisy is there for all to see. For example, the Minister of Health continues to tell the people that the public hospitals are well equipped to serve their medical needs, yet the PPP cabal and their rich friends and relatives continue to seek medical attention in the United States for simple cuts, bruises, fever or a cold. The same is true for the Minister of Education who brags about how good the public schools are, yet she sends her child to a private school. Likewise, the incompetent and unintellectual Minister of Home Affairs has publicly stated that the U.S. ambassador’s intervention into Guyana’s internal affairs is not welcome, but went on to say that the US intervention 22 years ago was needed to get rid of the PNC government. These hypocrites should be ashamed of themselves. Finally, the Attorney General vulgar, abusive and pimpish behavior, his threat of impending harm to the staff of Kaieteur News and his claim of superiority over Jagdeo and other non-CHAT-TREE Indians speak to his immorality, lack of integrity and hypocrisy. No one should ever vote for a president who after listening to the Nandlall tape recording, said that he supports the Attorney General because it was a private conversation and he did not do anything wrong. These are the indecent, immoral and bankrupt minds that have been running the country for the past 22 years. Go figure! Finally, the people must vote for a candidate who is mature and honest and who would develop an economic and human development plan that would advance the growth of the country, creates jobs, reduces crime and corruption, minimizes floods, improves the lives of the poor and the working class, and respects the constitution and the rights of the people, among others. The PPP record to date shows that they are incompetent and is incapable of transformational leadership. They are unfit to govern the country and should be voted out of office. Guyana needs an honest and dedicated coalition government to take the nation forward. Asquith Rose and Harish Singh.