Dear Editor,
GHK Lall has an uncanny ability to obfuscate critically important issues. He chases micro economic issues such as the price of tomatoes at his local market stall while ignoring the astonishing macroeconomic accomplishments of the PPP government. In his letter to this editor (Stabroek News, Sept. 20, 2023), Lall argues that “working class Guyanese are pummeled by prices and pay, but not the well-connected, well-positioned in this society.” The truth is that “everyone” globally is paying more for basic food items. Even the relatively wealthy in developed economies are feeling the pinch at their local grocery stores. But let’s get real. During the five years of APNU-AFC rule, unemployment rates in this country were soaring. A few weeks ago, the Inter-American Development Bank noted in its report that under the PPP government, unemployment rates have been on a steep decline and astonishingly, for both men and women.
While Lall chews on that easily verifiable fact, I invite him to glance up from those pricey red tomatoes and pay attention to the previous day’s headlines in this newspaper. Food security is one of the core issues that the PPP government has made a commitment to tackle and one that President Irfaan Ali has been addressing at meetings held to mark the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. On behalf of his government, President Ali laid out in concrete terms the very micro initiatives of the PPP to end hunger and bring prosperity for all Guyanese. I don’t think Lall is paying attention to anything but the notes he scribbles on the napkin he uses at tea time. Lall’s solution and that of a sizable number of APNU-AFC pundits, it seems, is for President Irfaan Ali, VP Bharrat Jagdeo and perhaps every minister in government, to stand at a busy intersection near Stabroek Market and hand out wads a cash to anyone with an outstretched hand.
There is absolutely zero evidence that handouts do anything to improve the economic lives of people. Zero. Please tell readers where in the world handouts have magically blossomed into economic prosperity. The pathway to economic development are the very things that the PPP is doing while Lall sits in his air-conditioned office and mumbles all day long to himself. Meanwhile, the PPP is building roads, schools, bridges and yes, hospitals, all of which are vital to economic growth and prosperity to all the people of Guyana.
Sincerely,
Nazim Baksh
