The elections season is well and truly on. The campaign rallies are being held all across the country. There have been the crowds at the many venues signaling support for one political party or the other. And there have been some very large crowds. Of course there have been the accusations of crowds being bussed in but regardless, the message is clear. There are people who want the world to know which of the parties they are supporting.
A lot of money is being spent on the campaign. The coast and some other locations are festooned with flags and banners, most of them belonging to the ruling party. Such is the extent of the advertising that the government sponsored a float in the Canadian Labour Day parade. It was a large banner on a float urging people to vote for the ruling party. There are those in Canada who will come home for the elections but the vast majority will not come. But that is of no importance. The message is clear.
The advertising does not end there. The Caribbean Premier League matches are being broadcast. This competition has been going on for about a dozen years. One political party is advertising on that forum. It is the first time political advertisements have been placed on that platform. Now there are the advertisements entering the space of the cricket lovers and followers.
Advertisements do have an impact on the outcome of the elections. That is why advertisements placed on the American Super Bowl broadcasts are so expensive. The companies placing the advertisements know the value of the reach. Suffice it to say that these are messages targeted at buyers.
Guyana has not done the research to determine the impact of advertising. Businesses do not place significant importance to advertising. The first thing they drop when business slows is advertising. But the successful ones are those that advertise the most. Alongside the established media are the various social media. News of the political opposition are splashed across the various social media platforms.
The advantage is that everyone has access that is not limited by power outages. Further, they help disseminate the information. There is no limit to the extent of advertising but there is a limit to public interaction. Many people, especially those in government employ, do not attend public rallies of the opposition. They would say that they cannot appear to identify with one or the other because they can lose their jobs.
However, in recent times public servants have appeared on government political platforms. Dr. Vincent Adams, one of the brains behind the efforts to limit the extent of abuse by ExxonMobil, was fired because he was perceived to be a member of the Alliance For Change. People still remember the dozens who were fired by Oneidge Walrond when she assumed responsibility for the Tourism Ministry.
In the same vein, there are those who must attend rallies of the ruling party or lose pay. Even business places hide to make contributions to political parties other than the ruling party. This is not unique to Guyana. There is no freedom of choice here without consequences.
Even in the marketplace the freedom of choice is limited. Prices have gone through the roof. Enterprising shoppers must really walk around to eke out the best bargains. Some say that the prices are seasonal. For some reason the season has not changed in a very long while. The consolation is that one cannot eat the money. The vendors say this and they would remind shoppers.
Now that the elections are almost here the talk is about increased money to combat the cost of living. Even the government is talking about hiking wages and salaries. There should have been no reason for talk. This could have been done at the drop of a hat. The cautious voter is asking about this. Money is the calling card.
Still fresh in recent memory is how Trinidad emerged as a wealthy country when its maximum oil production was a mere 140,000 barrels of oil per day. Guyana is producing some 900,000 barrels of oil per day and poverty is rising.
Something does not add up. Where is the money going? The government says infrastructure is the prime source of spending. But many projects are stalled. Contractors say that they cannot find workers. Workers say that they are not being paid what they think is a real wage. Contractors say that they have to pay some of the contract sum to the awardee. If this is so, then the awardee should have had to explain to the commercial banks the source of income. Surely this is not being done.
How can one explain the huge account of a police officer when one takes into account his salary? There is no poor Minister. Some have multiple properties to the extent that they no longer need to remain Ministers. But they remain. Perhaps they need money for vacation and other luxuries. Sadly, those who once frequented the United States are afraid to even go close to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
There is now talk about a minority government. That will change precious little. The focus is on the new kid on the block. He has made an impact. Even the ruling party has admitted to losing support to him in some parts of the country. He may be the power broker. He has attracted a lot of attention from the government. Such is the talk that one is now hearing about the threat of prosecution after the elections. This too doesn’t make sense. If a crime has been committed, then prosecute immediately. As in the case of New York for the mayoral elections, a threat is pushing people toward the frontrunner.
