By GHK Lall- It’s miracle that it took the mighty PPP leaders so long to admit that they did so badly they now spend so much effort to say that they will do so much good. Waking up and smelling the coffee has wafted into waking up and swearing on what is promising. I label that the best start to the day. From the PPP leadership standpoint, the promises distil to this: more money for Guyanese, less money for them.
How about that my fellow Guyanese for a boatload of hard self-sacrifice, a basket of rich promises? Can Mr. WIN compete with those numbers reaching GT all the way from Lethem? What about the PNC and AFC, which now look pale compared to the PPP gems that came from its pretender of a leader? One with a history of making huge promises, and then developing cold feet, chattering teeth, while beating a hasty retreat? Recall, ladies and gents, “review and renegotiate.”
Pensioners will get such a boost in monthly dollars that they wouldn’t know what to do with their floods of fortune. From a massive monthly pension hike to a $50,000 transportation grant, so they don’t have to hike along trails, but use those modern roads where all the billions went for the last five years. For five years, pensioners in an overpowering oil economy had to make do with a drop ($4k) here, and a bigger drop ($5k) there. Now they are being blown away by $19000 all in one shot. This may be too much for the systems of 70,000 plus Guyanese geriatrics.
Where will the PPP master planners find the money in the face of lighter oil prices, a surplus of supply, and Trumpian tariffs all coalescing at once? Money that was claimed not to be around, when the numbers were at their brightest? How so much money now when inflationary fears crippled the PPP and its master prevaricator (and manufacturer), Dr. VP from acting with the lavishness that now numbs Guyanese? But it is not just the old people of Guyana promised strawberry and cream, but the little people of Guyana, too.
Parents will come in for their buckets of cash for the kiddies, so much so that some may be tempted to stop hustling to make ends meet. Just throw back and let the promises of all these pols, with the PPP’s taking first place out of the blue. In Guyana’s hard guava season (more representative of poor people’s punishments to make that stone and sand season), the record PPP Government budgets from 2021 to this year of the Lord (and elections), were so rich with hundreds upon hundreds of billions for public works infrastructure.
But, so urine-poor with a ten billion here and a ten billion there for social infrastructure. Ow, Dr. Economist, and Dr. Whatever, have a heart! For the ole people, the pore people, the poly people of Guyana. Like Mingo, Jagdeo had his spreadsheets. Look how many great things done for Guyanese. Hooray! For he is a jolly good fellow.
My logic is simpler than Simon’s. Since so much was done in the years before these elections, there shouldn’t be these anxiety-filled, desperation-charged emergency relief packages now promised. Simply stated, the PPP did so much in the last five years (before elections), that it has so little to deliver now (after elections). Unless the fact is the PPP ratted out on the people, and its leaders are now rushing out with jam and cheese to ease the pangs of need and loss, to smooth the way to 9/1? The US had 9/11. The PPP is staring at 9/1, and it cannot say that it didn’t know, because that would have zero credibility.
Truth be told, when promises are involved, the president’s credibility is only with his squads of paid cheerleaders, and other beneficiaries of his budget allocation skills. Regarding the ever-eminent and ever-entertaining vice president, even the dumbest Guyanese won’t make the mistake of uttering credibility and his name in the same sentence.
All of his Thursday afternoon riots will now prove one of two things: how much he damaged the minds of the Guyanese people, or how much he damaged and destroyed himself. I tried to guide the VP towards freeing up some billions for Guyanese poor. He was livid. And what, hurt the cabals of contractors and PNC comrades that crossed over? They have priority claims on the millions and billions. Making matters worse, he then laughed mockingly. What do poor people know about money, how to handle it? Admittedly, this Machiavellian prince of a politician does have a point.
But now, the PPP isn’t taking any chances. Flood pensioners and parents with cash. A cheap cellphone bought to prove gratitude. Waking up and promising. It’s Xmas. Damnit, my bad again -elections.
