According to Caribbean News Now President Bharrat Jagdeo issued a proclamation on Sunday, October 9, declaring Monday, November 28, 2011, as the date for the holding of general and regional elections in Guyana.
Guyanese overseas residents and writers have been having their last say, commenting on their observations and desires for their country leading to the elections.
Felicia Persaud, founder of NewsAmericasNow, CaribPR Wire and Hard Beat Communications, wrote on Fri. Nov. 18, 2011 in New York, NY:
Come November 28th, voters in Guyana will go to the polls to elect a new government and hopefully take the chance to free themselves of the “Sword of Damocles” that’s installed itself over their heads since 1992.
Guyanese Finally Have A Chance To Rid Themselves Of The “Sword of Damocles”
Guyanese have a chance to make this a reality with the APNU come November 28th. It is unfortunate that the Alliance For Change refuses to see the bigger picture and remains focused on self-empowerment rather than a unity government that can surely send the PPP/C to the bone yard where they belong.
A united front is the magic formula that will melt away the “Sword of Damocles” and begin the process of returning Guyana to a country that can be respected and not one where Guyanese are forced to hang their heads in shame.
The embarrassment would be all too much to bear if the PPP/C and the likes of a Donald Ramotar administration is handed the powers to continue business as usual. Guyanese voters must not let that happen if the future of this nation is to be salvaged. The power is in the vote for change and for a national government that will send the PPP/C and the “Sword of Damocles” packing.
The Montserrat Reporter (TMR) took to the street on Wednesday, November 9, to get the views of Guyanese living on Montserrat.
Horticulturist
Horticulturist
I want to see Guyanese living in unity. One people, one nation, one destiny. I want to see Guyana’s economy booming. Whichever government wins needs manage the resources properly. I would like them to upgrade the sea defences to minimise flooding. They need to re-establish the National Service to educate the youths. That would discipline the youths. They are the future of tomorrow. I want them to secure our borders. Teacher and nurses need to be paid properly to avoid the brain drain. I hope we have a peaceful election.
Clerical Officer
Clerical Officer
It seems as though this election would be hotly contested. As usual everybody is jumping ship. We call them political grasshoppers, so it would be the survival of the fittest. It would be up to the one who can endure. I would like to see political unity. I think whichever party wins needs to base their politics on political unity. Focus more on the issues at hand rather than skin colour. We have gone too far to go back to the days when people vote according to creed or colour. In this twenty-first century that really doesn’t work anymore. I am anxiously waiting to see what would be the result. I hope we don’t get any riot. When we have family in Guyana we worry about what will happen. Today we are living like neighbours and tomorrow we are enemies. That doesn’t do well for the country at all. We need more development and more job opportunities. Whichever party wins need to restart the hydroelectricity at Tumatumari falls. We need better infrastructures. Crime has been down, keep it down. We would get more investors once crime is down but don’t invest and rape the country. It’s all about equality and balancing our resources, everybody needs to get a piece of the pie so they need to move away from race-based politics.
Teacher
Teacher
I would like this election to be fair and peaceful. The PPP/C government is too bias. We need a government for everybody, a people-centre government. I would like the new government to create more job opportunities for teacher who left Guyana so they can go back. They need to create jobs for everybody not just Indians, all other Guyanese. I would like them to put better roads in the rural communities. No one should fight each other we are all one people, one nation with one destiny.
Cosmetologist
Cosmetologist
I want to see a new party in power not the two major parties we are accustom to. We need a new party with a different focus. I really want things to improve. No racism. Guyana is very nice and there is no place like home. We need them to manage our resources properly and clamp down on crime.
Construction worker
Construction Worker
The youths them need to get job to take care of their families and the youths them need to put down the guns.
Former President of the Golden Arrowhead
Former President of the Golden Arrowhead Association
We need changes, we need a change. They need to create employment especially for the youths. The
government need to be accountable; too much corruption and the foreign investors need to pump more money back in the economy. Five per cent is not enough. They need to have a minimum wage in Guyana. I sense a change, change is coming.
Steel Bender
Steel Bender
In the early years of my life we had a lot of government own rice mills. When PPP/C came into power in 1992 the PPP/C government said they came to open the doors of the rice industries but I know for a fact the rice industries were always opened. Five years after the rice industries collapsed. Foreign investors came in and they took over the rice industries. A Dutch man for instance from the Netherlands now own a lot of the rice mills in Guyana. If we Guyanese continue to let that happen there is no way Guyana going to get better. We need a change in Guyana.
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
I would like to see more areas open up. I would like to see them focus on technology. Provide more employment for the youths and I think the youths can do more to help themselves too. If you can’t find a job somewhere do some farming, do something, be creative. In every country people blame government but the people need to make a difference. Regardless which government in, people still have to help themselves. The government has to use the resources to run the country. Not Guyana alone has problems.
Customers in a store at Brades
Customers
We don’t need the PNC or the PPP/C. we need a new part. We need a change. Both parties are the same thing. All of them just looking after themselves. Black people need more work. They need to develop all the areas not just some of the regions. They did nothing for Linden, they need to provide more work in Linden and they need to do the roads. We need proper drainage. The cost of living is too high in Linden compare to elsewhere in the country. They need to manage our resource, they giving away our resource. The value of our money is too low. If Guyana gets better people will go back home. Guyana is a beautiful country. We need electoral reform. We should be able to vote for independent candidate, if we don’t want to vote for a party.
Store Clerk
I would like us to have a crime free election. This time around I would like the parties running to have a
Store Clerk
clearer vision as to what they want to do for Guyana. Guyana is not where it should have been. Our neighbours Suriname and Brazil have developed and some of them getting there. Where are we? We need development. We need a better cost of living. Guyana is beautiful, we have a lot of resources, and Guyana has the most resources in the entire Caribbean. They keep borrowing money. They need to manage the resources properly. We can get there, it is not too late.
Since the capture of these comments the following story presented here in brief broke:
GUYANA: Government awards multimillion-dollar mining, airport deals
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) _ Guyana has signed a $1 billion agreement with a Canadian-based company for what the government says is the largest private mining investment for the South America country.
Toronto-based Guyana Goldfields Inc. said the Aurora Gold Project agreement signed Friday is the first large-scale gold mining license that Guyana has issued since 1991.
The government said it is expected to create more than 1,900 temporary and permanent jobs and Guyana Goldfields CEO Patrick Sheridan said it is expected to generate $1.6 billion in government revenues at a time of record gold prices.
The company announcement said it will pay a mining royalty of five percent when gold sells for $1,000 an ounce and eight percent when the price is greater. It will also pay a corporate income tax of 30 percent.
The agreement is for 20 years, with provisions for extension.
The company said construction should start early next year and the mine and mill should be operating by early 2014.
A taxi driver commenting on the article said, “As an overseas based Guyanese I find the signing of a $1 billion agreement just days leading up to the November 28 elections very suspicious. When will Caribbean politicians ever learn that political trickery does not lead to fair and proper elections? This clearly seems like a desperate attempt to buy votes.”
