Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 16, 2011 Letters
Dear Editor,
Who feels it knows it and neither the tycoons of Pradoville or the stuff-shirt elites of a certain political group, can speak to the real tragedy that is the plight of the working man and woman in Guyana. In the coming weeks we have to work very hard to prevent another ethnic census masquerading as an election. In 2011 the apathy and hopelessness that has engulfed the rural and urban poor must be transformed into a firm resolve to remove the PPP from office.
There are many agencies and organizations that must be out front in this effort and they must not only be visible but vocal, mobilizing the people and leading them to the polling booth, to seek the change all that is necessary. The trade union movement cannot sit idly by as mere spectators to this most important of elections. Their leaders have to be seen and heard. They must regain the testicular fortitude of yester-year when unions marched and fought for change in Guyana. Letters to the editor will not do it, now is the time for the masses of workers to be mobilized and energized for change; this is when we separate the doers from the talkers. The religious community must also be in the forefront of this mass movement for change. The moral decay of our society, the decadence and the depravity that this government has allowed must be halted and addressed from the pulpit. Religious men and women of all faiths must begin to speak out and lead their followers to seek righteousness. What we have in Guyana today cannot sit well with any man of faith. The poverty, the thievery, the governmental corruption, political leaders involved in all types of conduct, our very surroundings unclean and unkempt, must be troubling to our men of faith. They say cleanliness is next to godliness; but look around Guyana today and the dirt and squalor of our common places, show how far we have removed ourselves from God. Our religious leaders must be a part of this new Guyana that we seek.
Mr. Editor, my biggest disappointment this year is with the youth and students, especially the silence that emanates from the University of Guyana campus at Turkeyen. I fondly remember the activism of the youth and students during the seventies and eighties and wonder; “Where have all the student activists gone… where is the fight?” This is the generation with the most to lose if we have five more years of PPP misrule, yet they are just content to be passive onlookers to history. Change is not a spectator sport; Change does not come easy, and power is not easily surrendered by the powerful. Our youth and student leaders must be seen and heard in the coming weeks, the muscle of the youth demographic must be flexed. The organizations that represent Guyanese women must also make their presence felt and their voices heard. Women are the most severely impacted by the high cost of living in Guyana, and must perform the daily financial gymnastics to feed their families and many times keep clothes on their backs and a roof over their heads. They know what 16 percent VAT does to a dollar; they know what paying $ 600 a gallon of rice and $1,000 for plantains, does to the family budget. They can tell us because they feel it, and as the song says; “Who feels it knows it!” Women must vote in this election to secure a better life for themselves and their children. The PPP government has been absent on women and children issues; domestic abuse, child abuse, molestation of the young and helpless, poverty, murder are all issues that have been neglected by this administration.
Mr. Editor, the press as the fourth estate must continue to speak out and expose corruption in high places and the many government excesses that rob the people of enjoying a good life. The political opposition and civil society must continue to agitate for free access to the public airwaves; they must have equal time and equal access on the government owned and taxpayer funded radio and television networks.
I have read the APNU covenant with the people and I have been listening to the many speeches on the campaign trail. The rhetoric gives me hope that come on the morning of November 29th (the day after) ,if we vote our hopes and not our fears we can have a government of the people, for the people; we can have for the first time in Guyana a government of national unity and reconciliation. There is hope in the APNU platform for the youth and students, the farmers, women and the working poor. Lowering the VAT to 10 percent and revising the tax code will ensure that workers take home more of what they earn. Lowering the corporate tax and simplifying the incorporation process will encourage more investors and create more jobs. Providing school buses and meals for our primary school children will ensure that they get a good head start in their day. Declaring war on crime and poverty and striving to make Guyana the education nation once again will go a far way in restoring our crisis of confidence.
Elections have consequences, and how we vote will have a direct impact on every facet of our lives. We cannot afford another five years of fragmented growth and development, for that will ultimately lead us to self destruction. We must instead choose a path to progress and togetherness under a government of national unity. The time for action is now!
Mark Archer
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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