Dear Editor,
Any political campaigning by the PPP/C that continues to focus on the 28 years of PNC rule must be met with deaf ears. Guyanese truly need to ignore this worn-out battle cry that once proved so useful in the early days of the 1990s.
No government is perfect. The PNC made many errors during its time in office. However, they were also responsible for a number of significant developments that have served and continue to serve the Guyanese people to this day.
The sins of the PNC that took place over three decades ago should not have any significant bearing on the state of ‘modern’ Guyana. What the PNC did should not influence the way people vote at the next election.
The most likely voting demographic for the next general election will reveal that a significant portion of the voting population consists of young people in the 18-25 year age group.
These persons would have lived most of their days in the new era of ‘democracy’ and will be voting not on the failures of the PNC three decades ago, but on the 19 years of PPP/C rule which is all they know.
It is these 19 years they will have to assess and decide whether or not they think that party should be re-elected again for another five years. These young people need to impartially analyse the positive and the negative contributions of the PPP/C government and conscientiously vote based on what they know and believe.
Guyanese youths are very aware of the political atmosphere in which they live. They continue to witness the PPP/C government in action. The policies that have been created and implemented are all known.
They do not need to be given continuous manipulated political history lessons for them to vote for a particular party.
The youths can make their own choices based on their experiences. I do not see why they will be interested in looking back at a time before theirs to influence their present decision. The parents of those youths lived through the times of the PNC. They will be the ones doing the comparative analyses on the state of Guyana today as against 20 or 30 years ago.
Young people need to see sustainable economic development.
They need to see jobs made available, better wages and salaries, the equal administration of justice, eradication of ubiquitous corruption, the reduction of VAT, trade unionism’s rebirth, freedom of information, an affordable, stable and reliable electricity supply, a clean and reliable water supply, and a number of other basic elements that a developing country should possess.
Youths know the change that is needed as the next election beckons. But that change can only come when they get more involved in the one political process that gives them the right to bring about that necessary change. Voting is their change tool. There is almost 19 years of history to assess. Young people should get registered and vote.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Francois
