OPINION: AFC and APNU gone mad with cultural politics

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 January 2025, 21:37 by Writer

By Dr Randy Persaud, Professor Emeritus

Hardly a day goes by without the AFC and APNU offending the nation with decidedly outrageous statements. These statements bear the hallmark of urban arrogance, cultural insensitivity, and even racial pandering. They also clearly indicate that the APNU and AFC do not want to talk about their record in government. The simple truth is that Norton and Hughes do not want people to compare their abysmal record with that of the PPPC, where the latter moved Guyana by leaps and bounds since August 2020. Beware that the operational code of the APNU and AFC is delay, distract, divert, destroy. Truth is the enemy for them.

Let’s get something straight. This is an election year, and voters have every right to know the truth, to know the record, and then to make up their minds. The PPPC can stand and will stand by its record. Our citizens are less concerned with the nonsense that comes out of the mouths of those obsessed with Seven Curry. That is simply meant to divert your attention from the multiple disgraceful actions of APNU. The same with Nigel Hughes’ reposting of the racial labelling of Vice President Jagdeo as having a “genetic predisposition”. That was also intended to distract the people from the pathetic record of the APNU-AFC failed administration.

A good comparison between the APNU-AFC and the PPPC is not only about specific policies and outcomes. It is also about different social and economic frameworks in which they operate. It is how they think about things. The mindsets of the APNU-AFC and PPPC are starkly different. Here are some key differences in their approach and record.

The APNU and AFC have a horrific record on the economic front. During their recent (2015-2020) term in office, they spent more money on food and drinks for their comrades than they spent on cash grants to children. They took away the one-month bonus from the Joint Services who protect this country. They jacked up fees in mining and water rates on farmers. They failed to deliver on paddy price. They fired thousands of sugar workers and sent them on the breadlines. They chased away hundreds of bauxite jobs. Instead of a broad-based housing policy, their time in office was marred by hundreds of acres of prime land delivered to party comrades, friends, and families. They did absolutely nothing for public service workers other than try to politicize them.

They signed a bad deal with the oil majors, and then without a sign of regret, turn around and call for renegotiation. Their letter writer friends and talk show freaks expend all their time and energy criticizing the same foreign corporations responsible for investing nearly US$60 billion in Guyana’s economy.

By contrast the PPP economic record is so strong that it has been praised by every independent source. The PPP restored and increased the “Because We Care” cash grant to students; it restored and increased the end-of-year bonus for the Joint Services; it cut or eliminated the nearly 200 taxes the APNU-AFC had placed on the backs of the people; it is on course of fulfilling its promise of delivering 50,000 house lots; it passed the Local Content Act (2021) which has allowed hundreds of local businesses to open and prosper; it has facilitated the graduation of thousands of students through government scholarships; tertiary education is now free; the economy is so successful that unemployment is now almost non-existent; school children now get free eye, ear, and throat examinations; the $100,000 cash grant is currently being distributed; numerous new agricultural crops have been introduced and are on the rise; the Demerara Bridge is moving towards completion; the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge is moving forward at pace; a comprehensive road system is being built out; inflation is low and holding steady; oil production is going up; wages and salaries are going up; the tax threshold has gone up providing more take-home pay; more than a dozen hospitals and dozens of new schools have been built, or are under construction. This is only a small part of what has been done since August 2020.

By any comparison, the PPP has a record of accomplishments that few countries in the history of the Caribbean can show. But more importantly, when you compare what the APNU-AFC did in their 2015-2020 term in office, against the record of the current PPP administration, it is clear that the APNU-AFC wasted five years in the life of the nation. The PNC, of course, had a miserable twenty-eight-year stint when this country was brought to its knees in economics and governance. The AFC had promised to be independent and not to ever join up with the incompetent PNC-APNU. They broke their promise and simply rolled over to accommodate and enjoy the jouissance.

It is clear that the failure in managing the economy has pushed the PNC-APNU and AFC into a bizarre politics of cultural antagonism. How sad; how jejune!

Dr Randy Persaud is an Adviser in the Office of the President.