Dear Editor,
I had the opportunity, an unfortunate one I would say, to listen to the newly minted Opposition Leader’s maiden address to the Parliament on February 06, 2026. His typed address was clearly a futile and disingenuous attempt to mislead, deceive and dupe the Guyanese people. Of course, such behaviour is in his DNA. One need not look further than the charges he is attempting to avoid in the United States. But more on that another day.
The Opposition Leader waxed lyrically about the budget not providing any pay increases for public servants. This is a downright lie! In 2024, the Government and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) approved a three (3) year agreement which provides for a 9 per cent pay rise this year. This is public knowledge, yet the Opposition Leader says nothing is there. Clearly, he is out at sea.
The out-of-depth leader goes on, gleefully reading and telling the country that the Budget has nothing for the ordinary people. Again, deception and misdirection. Everything policy, programme and initiative in the Budget seeks to uplift the ordinary man, woman and child. Direct cash transfers, improvements in benefits and conditions, and reduction in taxes collectively and cumulatively contribute to their well-being. The zero-taxation of fuel keeps the cost of living at bay. Similarly, the flagship gas-to-energy plant will slash energy costs and put more money in the pockets of the workers and their families, about whom the Opposition Leader feigns concern.
Understandably, the Opposition Leader has been thrust into a position he is clearly not ready for nor qualified to hold. Rather than offering tangible suggestions as a credible opposition, he and his pack of misfits have chosen to offer sound bites, sensational quotes and personal attacks. His degenerate attack on Minister Gail Teixeira is a glaring example. He chooses to single out a woman who has done more with her little finger for our country and people than he can ever aspire to do in his lifetime.
As I consider the Opposition Leader and his Party’s expressions, if they can be called that, mirror a lot of what the now-defunct AFC was saying in its heyday. As we all know, then and we see again, it was all bluster and bluff. I urge our people to remember our past lest we be bound to repeat it, and I want to echo the Minister of Culture and tell the opposition that “readers are leaders”.
Yours truly,
Patricia Persaud
