Dear Editor,
This being my last letter to the Stabroek News before it winds-down, I wish the Management and Staff good luck and may all work out for a new Stabroek Papers to return to Guyana. I want to especially convey much respect to the Editor-in-Chief Mr. Anand Persaud for his high ethics in media services and this nation is fully aware that you fought the good fight and your work will not go in vain, I am convinced the team will be back.
Now to what I want to speak to in my last letter to the Stabroek News, the futility of idle publicity and how the PPP can learn from the President Donald Trump.
The decision by President Donald Trump to dismiss Cabinet member Kristi Noem, allegedly for allowing publicity to overshadow performance, offers a lesson that extends far beyond Washington. It echoes concerns here in Guyana, where ministers and even department heads increasingly appear accompanied by camera crews and media staff to maximize Facebook exposure. But Facebook time is not work; it is empty publicity.
The Noem controversy illustrates what happens when public relations begins to substitute for competence and serious administration. Photo opportunities and constant self-promotion may generate headlines, but they cannot replace the hard work of governing or the discipline required to manage public institutions responsibly.
Leaders within Guyana’s People’s Progressive Party (PPP) would do well to reflect on this. Governance is not a branding exercise. Ministers are appointed to deliver results, strengthen institutions, and address the real concerns of citizens—not compete with one another for media attention.
Political ambition must also respect party structure. Only one member of the PPP Central Committee can ultimately become president, and excessive self-promotion risks undermining both party unity and public confidence. No amount of self promotion from Ms. Priya Manickchand or Mr. Ashni Singh can earn them the Presidency, they are not members of the Central Committee of the PPP. Even Mr. Nigel Dharamlall, a serving Member of the PPP Central Committee has a stronger chance at the Presidency than these two Ministers.
So ease up on the PR gimmicks and sit at your desk and just do some work. In the end, competence and results—not publicity—are what truly matter in earning the respect of the Guyanese people.