It was Mark Twain, the American writer and humorist, who proffered, “it’s better to keep one’s mouth shut, and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt.” Where in the context of the afore stated quote, is the commonly misconstrued belief, faced with one bespectacled, suited and booted, he must represent the pantheon of all wisdom. But then he who is suited and booted, rendered his mouth opened, and there is nothing but a bucketload of exiting folly and meaningless garbage.
In which, case in point is Bharat Jagdeo, who wouldn’t be considered the smartest, in a school of back of the class dunce. But with him bespectacled, suited and booted, creates the misleading aura, that incomparable Einsteinian intelligent, is he. However, with mouth agape and lips relaxed, that which he uttered was beyond belief; “there are only pockets of poverty in Guyana.” Which implies, that Guyana as a country of wealth, knows not of poverty, since PPP, the poverty eradicators, have alleviated same from our four corners. But the statistics emanating from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), exposed the PPP lies on their pockets of poverty propaganda.
For the UNDP exposed, that our poverty rate, the share of the population living below US$5.5 a day, is approximately 38.8%, among the highest in the Caribbean and Latin America. Further, the UNDP continues, adolescence pregnancy remains a major issue, with more than 20% of all pregnancies, occurring among adolescent girls, aged 15–19 years.
Furthermore, unemployment stands at 13.36%, where a significant percentage of those registered as employed, are temporary contract workers. And symptomatic of our pervasive poverty, is the high emigration and brain drain, with 39% of our citizens, currently residing abroad, while 50% of all the tertiary educated, having emigrated to the United States, according to The World Bank.
Thus, it’s evident, based on these statistics, that this our country, is burdened by pervasive rather than pockets of poverty. For a population existing on less than US$5.5 a day, can hardly be considered as a country not afflicted by pervasive poverty. Moreover, a population afflicted by teenage pregnancies, could hardly be considered as a country not oppressed by pervasive poverty.
Additionally, a country where the underpaid tertiary educated are desperately seeking the next flight out, is most certainly symptomatic of a country beset by pervasive poverty. Yet despite these realities, Jagdeo of abase thinking, has described our poverty level, as only in pockets. In which, this asinine statement of his, has given the erroneous impression that poverty isn’t a major issue in our country. But contrary to his misguided assertion, is the UNDP pronouncement, that nearly 40% of the population exist on less than US$5.5 a day.
In fact, based on these UNDP statistics, pervasive poverty burdens approximately 4 in 10 families, with indigenous people being disproportionately affected. Thus, the question to be asked is, if 4 in 10 families are burdened by poverty, how could this be considered pockets of poverty? And with 4 in 10 families struggling in this spiralling cost of living crisis, how could this be considered pockets of poverty?
Yet with the masses enduring a spiralling cost of living crisis, Jagdeo has expressed the view, PPP deserves some credit for significantly reducing the number of persons living below the poverty line. Where this hogwash of his, characterising PPP as poverty alleviators, must be the most asinine statement, ever uttered by a bipedal mammal.
Mark’s Take
Then with parents having to make difficult choices, such as between food or rent, Jagdeo is to insensitively assert, they must make sacrifices to send their children to school. Thus, we must inform the out of touch Jagdeo, our parents are already making sacrifices, on a daily basis, to school their children. For on a daily basis, they are faced with such difficult choices, of paying utility bills, or paying for school transport for their children.
The fact is, Jagdeo’s pockets of poverty characterisation, isn’t consistent with the reality we face daily. For PPP is focused on infrastructural development, as evident in their trillion-dollar budget, whilst nearly 40% of the masses, are existing on pittance. In which, evidenced by the PAHO statistics, Guyana has the highest rate of childhood malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean. Further, the very PAHO pronounced, we have the highest rates of underweight newborns, in Latin America and the Caribbean. Thus, if that described in the aforementioned, doesn’t represent pervasive rather than pockets of poverty, this we ask of Bharat Jagdeo and PPP, what is?
This article was originally published under the title ‘Jagdeo Lies’ January 21, 2024
