Dear Editor,
Mr Christopher Ram’s letter in SN titled ‘Region 9 flood relief was distributed through the PPP/C party office‘ has covered a most important point that was being queried by residents of Lethem.
Many are questioning why this flood relief had to coincide with the PPP/C rally? After all, the flood subsided almost five months ago. When there was the great flood in GT the relief arrived much faster than it did in the Rupununi. So was this just a political gimmick?
The many persons that turned up for the rally came mainly for the flood relief and not so much to hear what the party had to say (and indeed they spent most of this time bashing the other political parties rather than offering tangible ideas for economic and social development of the region and country).
There are other issues that locals are querying about this recent PPP/C rally in Lethem and whether government resources were blatantly used for party purposes.
1) There was much preparation for this PPP/C rally around Lethem. The majority of this preparatory work was done by the RDC, Region #9 staff. Staff could be seen at all hours of the day and night, using the RDC vehicles to put up banners and posters.
2) Facelift work was done around Lethem, seemingly in preparation for this rally. Street lights, which were noticeably absent for the last four years suddenly became operational again. Beneath these lights glowed some of the biggest PPP/C posters and symbols. The area around where the rally was held had the biggest facelift of all after being neglected for years.
3) People from the outlying villages came in their numbers in tractors – noticeable by their model and colour – which were given to the communities by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs. When one village queried whether the tractors were being hired, the head of the local PPP/C branch bluntly replied, “We give y‘all these tractors so y‘all gat to use it to come to our rally. We only giving fuel.”
4) When the flood relief started being disbursed and the name of a local resident of one of the nearby villages, who is a known opposition political activist, was called there was much opposition among the party supporters for him to receive this benefit. This action is deserving of outright condemnation but the party leaders said nothing to their supporters.
5) The flood relief was promised to be delivered at an earlier period but it was delayed, seemingly to coincide with the PPP/C rally.
Mr Ram’s objection to the use of state resources is definitely justified since it creates unfair competition.
The AFC held their rally the following day and their preparation was minuscule compared to that of the PPP/C, though their message definitely was not.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
