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TROUBLE BREWING!

Dec 24, 2015 Editorial

Already reeling from the accusations surrounding the cost of the President’s inauguration, it seems that the government has been plunged into another scandal. This time the issue relates to messages purportedly made by the acting CEO of GPL in regard to the purchasing of 28,000 meters.
As a State agency, GPL has been criticized for its failure to reduce transmission losses, theft of electricity, its inability to complete projects on time and mismanagement of public funds. Its CEO has been under a cloud of suspicion since being appointed to the position in late August. In spite of the questions raised about his credentials, he was appointed by the subject Minister. If due diligence was not done by the Minister, he should be relieved of his portfolio.
This latest incident would be one of the toughest tests yet for this government which prides itself on stamping out corruption.
Guyana’s survival depends on having an efficient, corrupt-free and clean government, which means that all financial transactions utilizing state funds must be transparent before the government can be clean.
Under the PPP government, political corruption had a seismic impact on the country. It was unchecked and had metamorphosed into an almost incurable sore, decline in morals and the death knell of the PPP. It was perverse, evil and even intergenerational. The impact of corruption by common sense deduction is deleterious on small economies like Guyana.
Today, Guyana is still perceived as being corrupt by many of those with the capital to make its economy grow. Its business climate is not yet ripe for sustainable investment; manufacturing has declined and long-term investor-confidence is like a fleeting illusion.
Corruption is still rampant at just about every level and in every sphere of society, from the politicians to the police to those in business. And it is not just foreigners who believe that Guyana is overly corrupt, about 80 per cent of Guyanese feel the same way. Naturally and unfortunately, the people who suffer the most from corruption are the poor. As a consequence, the country is in dire straits and continues to depend mostly on rice and the sugar-cane plantation type economy.
The PPP which has been in power for 23 years is primarily responsible for corruption, as they watched it descend to an almost incurable state and is now edifices in the minds of local and foreign investors. However, like the PPP, it is alleged that the priorities of this government are pinnacled upon personal friendships and umbilical loyalty to party.
Too many in the government hear but do not listen or take advice. The truth is crime will only reduce when jobs are given to the youths. Jailing the youths or having them killed by the security forces under Operation Dragnet is not the solution. It will backfire. Also, if Guyana is to progress, it must also seek help from qualified Guyanese overseas.
Where are the principals who presided over corruption and mega losses of the taxpayers’ money? These funds could have been used to help put food on the table for the poor who suffered from the meager five percent annual salary increase.
The PPP was obsessed with power and its objective was acquiring and retaining power at all costs. Today, no significant arrest or prosecution has been made despite the billions of dollars which cannot be accounted for at NICIL and other government departments as reported in the audits.
The government has to put its resources, financial and human, where its mouth is and stop paying lip service to the people or making half-hearted attempts. Otherwise, the country will continue to stagnate both economically and socially.

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