OP-ED: “They Not Like Us” — Citizens Used as Props In PPP’s Game of ‘Theatre of Hopes and Dreams’

In the grand theater of Guyanese politics, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) leaders excel at one thing; using the working class, indigenous communities, and Afro-Guyanese citizens as props to project an image of solidarity with the people they continually oppress. Make no mistake—Priya Manickchand, with her $10,000 USD monthly salary and allowances and her expensive Louis Vuitton purses, has nothing in common with the coastal, rural and indigenous parents and their children who suffer under her administration’s failing schools, untrained teachers, and dilapidated infrastructure. Her photo ops with these communities are nothing more than cynical attempts to paper over the systemic inequities her policies perpetuate.

The hypocrisy doesn’t stop there. Jagdeo and Irfaan Ali, the titans of the PPP, are billionaires in USD with alleged Swiss and Chinese bank accounts—not because of innovation, ingenuity, or hard work, but according to allegations, because of corruption, graft, and the systematic looting of Guyana’s resources. Many agree that their wealth has been built on the backs of the same working people they claim to champion. These leaders have mastered the art of wealth transfer, not by lifting their citizens but by diverting state resources into their own pockets and those of their cronies.

Their promises to foreign investors lay bare the truth; the PPP has committed to keeping wages low, ensuring that Guyanese workers remain a cheap, exploitable labor force. Who else will work in the new crush of money-laundering hotels slated to flood Guyana in 2025? These hotels are not symbols of development but monuments to corruption, built on the exploitation of a workforce that will see no significant wage increases while the PPP remains in power.

The people cast as props in this charade cannot be blamed for their optimism. They believe that proximity to PPP power might translate into empowerment. But history has shown that the selfish, insecure, and greedy cabal at the helm of the PPP will give nothing back. Their leadership is marked by a relentless appetite for wealth accumulation, with no regard for the tangible needs of the communities they exploit for political gain.

For those posing and smiling in the PPP’s propaganda machine, know this; you are props in a play that ends with you having nothing to show for your efforts. The PPP’s insecurity and greed ensure that the wealth of Guyana remains concentrated in the hands of a few, while the rest of the country is left with empty promises and photo ops.

“They not like us.” This truth resonates louder than ever. The PPP leadership may dress the part and deliver the lines, but they live in gilded mansions, miles removed from the struggles of the people they claim to represent. The props may believe they are part of the act, but they remain spectators in a performance designed to perpetuate the PPP’s wealth and power at everyone else’s expense.