BOTH OF THE MAIN PARTIES ACHIEVED THEIR OBJECTIVES

The APNU must not forget its manners. It should immediately dispatch a “thank you” card to Vice PresidentBharratJagdeofor administering the shock therapy which the APNU neededtoreviveitspolitical fortunes.

The PNCR is the only substantive party within the A P N U A s L o c a l Government Elections loomed,thePNCRappeared badlywounded.

Having already suffered the fallout from the attempt to rig the 2020 general and regional elections, the party was further splintered when there was a successful mutiny against the then leader, David Granger, forcing him into political retirement. The party also suffered internal rifts and rowswhichleftitlame.

So badly maimed and weakened was the PNCR that it was unable to field candidates in 55% of the overall number of constituencies. This meant that the PPP/C had effectivelywontheelections even before the people went tothepolls.

The PNCR’s campaign was anemic. It struggled to attract large crowds at most ofitsmeetingsandtherewas general disinterest within its supportbase.

But the PNCR was to be have a miraculous revival thanks to none other than Bharrat Jagdeo, facing a barrage of criticisms and becoming entangled in controversies over its handling of the oil and gas sector and the sale of the Marriott Hotel, the PPP/C went on a political counteroffensive, seeking to respond to any and every criticism Jagdeo took it upon himself to be the chief whip against anything emanating from the Opposition Leader He becamesoobsessedwiththe Leader of the Opposition that he began hosting onemanpressconferencesevery Thursday simply to respond to whatever the PNCR has saidatitspressconferenceof thesameday Giventhefact thatthePNCRwasanutterly discredited force leading into the local government e l e c t i o n s , J a g d e o unwittinglywasgivingmore attentiontothePNCRthanit deserved.

Insodoing,hebreathed new life into the PNCR’s localgovernmentcampaign. Hedidsointworespects.

First,heplayedrightinto thehandsoftheAPNU.The APNUdecidedthatithadto mobilize its supporters aroundthethemeoftryingto prevent PPPC domination. By his divisive drivel, Jagdeo effectively played right into the fears of the PNCR supporters who were concerned about the PPP/C makingacleansweepofthe elections This helped to galvanize the PNCR’s support base around their APNU.

Second, Jagdeo’s divisive attacks on the Opposition agitated the supporters of the PNCR just as it had done in the 2015 general and regional elections when the PPP/C lost to the APNU+AFC. By being so venomous and divisive against the PNCR,

Dem Boys Seh...

the Vice President actually helped to rally support for theAPNU.

The PPP/C will have to make a decision about just whodeterminesanddictates itscampaigntactics.Thishas t o b e c o l l e c t i v e responsibilityandshouldnot be left or to be perceived as being the responsibility of one-man.You cannot run an election campaign as a onemanshow

Nonetheless, both the PPP/CandtheAPNUshould feel satisfied that they achievedmajorobjectivesin the local government polls. For the APNU, its strategy was to hold on to its strongholds. It concentrated itsresourcesinthisareaand it managed to comfortably retain control of the to the m u n i c i p a l i t i e s o f Georgetown, Linden and NewAmsterdam.

The PNCR however should be concerned about the tie in Bartica and in Mahdia These are also traditionalstrongholdsofthe PNCR which it had previously won in the 2016 and2018LocalGovernment Elections Despite these setbacks and the fact that it lost more than 75% of the local government areas, the APNUachieveditsprincipal objective of going into the elections.

ThePPP/Cdidthesame. It swept the polls winning more than 75% of the local authorityareas.

Every party goes into an election hoping to win. But as Jagdeo mentioned yesterday, the PPP/C had to berealistic.Itcouldnothave expected to have won the

Guyana should return the gift!

In a jaw-dropping display of magnanimity, country, the UAE which is among the richest countries in the world, has given Guyana a donation of G$100Mdollarforaschool fordisabledchildren.Given the cost of some of the schools being built in Guyana – G$253M to rebuild St George’s Secondary School; and G$6888torebuildtheChrist ChurchSecondarySchool–this school for the disabled seems more like a kindergarten school rather thanaspecialneedsschool.

But when a nation’s economic policy revolves around borrowing, begging and bartering, it is not surprising that one of the wealthiest nations on the planet has graciously bestowedthemeaslysumof US$500,000 upon the country The sheer audacity of this minuscule donation in the face of the UAE’s boundless riches is nothing shortofshameful.

That donation is far less than the profits they would have made by selling us Russian-made vaccines during the early days of the pandemic. It’s as if they found their pocket change beneath their goldencrustedsofacushionsand thought, “Why not toss it at Guyana. It’ll make us look likewecare!”

One can’t help but imagine the leaders of country UAE convening behind closed doors, strategizing their paltry donation. “Let’s make it small enough to be m u n i c i p a l i t i e s o f Georgetown, Linden and NewAmsterdam. But it had togiveitafairshot,whichit did At this stage, it is difficult to determine stage whether the PPP/C made serious inroads into the PNCR’s strongholds The metric which Jagdeo used wastheincreaseinvotesfor the PPP/C in PNCR strongholds. But in order to better assess the PPP/C’s showing in the PNCR strongholds,onewouldneed to know the comparative increase in votes for the PNCR, the overall voter t u r n o u t a n d t h e constituencies from whence the PPP/C’s votes originated.

The PNCR however owes a debt of gratitude to two persons. The first is Jagdeo. Had he not become so obsessed with busing-out the Opposition, there would havenotbeenanyrevivalof its fortunes and the PNCR’s base would not have been galvanized. Jagdeo played thewrongcard.

But there was also a last hour intervention which helped the APNU. Former PNCR leader, David Granger, came out with a powerful and well-argued endorsement which detailed the PPPC’s lack of commitment to local democracy The PPP/C had no answer for this lastminutesalvofromtheretired Brigadier And when the PPP/Cissilenced,youknow that the APNU’s supporters willbealert. insulting, but big enough to pretend we’re doing something.”

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this n e w s p a p e r a n d i t s affiliates.)

Butletusnotalsobetoo hasty in our judgment Perhaps, in the UAE US$500,000 is simply chump change a trivial sumonemightcasuallytoss awayonawhim.

After all, when you swim in golden pools and dine on diamond-encrusted delicacies, perspective tends to become distorted.

So,letusraiseatoasttothe generosity of the UAE, the epitome of ostentatious wealth and stingy benevolence May their grandiose gestures continue to serve to remind us that true generosity is not measured in pennies but in sincereactsofkindness!

Talkhalf.Leffhalf!