HGP NIGHTLY NEWS – WIN General Secretary Odessa Primus has questioned whether impressive academic qualifications mean anything to ordinary Guyanese if they are still struggling to make ends meet, asking pointedly whether citizens are supposed to “eat” politicians’ degrees.
Primus made the remarks during a heated exchange at Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed’s press conference on Monday after a question was raised about Mohamed’s formal qualifications and suitability for national leadership.
While Mohamed responded that his “qualification is my heart,” Primus broadened the debate, arguing that academic credentials should not automatically be treated as evidence of effective leadership.
She questioned whether highly qualified political leaders have been able to translate their education into better living conditions for the population.
“We have got an economist by barrel standard at the helm of this country, and we’re in a mess. People can barely survive in this country,” Primus argued.
She then questioned the practical value of those qualifications to families struggling with their daily expenses.
“So how exactly is this economic degree of whichever magnitude helpful to us at this time?” she asked.
“When people are suffering in this country, what are we supposed to do? Eat his economic degree?”
Primus maintained that political leadership should instead be judged by tangible improvements in the lives of citizens.
She also cited poverty statistics which she attributed to the Inter-American Development Bank, claiming that 58 percent of Guyanese live in poverty and 32 percent in abject poverty.
Those specific figures would require independent verification against the IDB data cited by Primus.
Mohamed, meanwhile, rejected the suggestion that his level of formal education should determine whether he is capable of serving as a national leader.
“My qualification is my heart. I have a heart for the people,” he said.
