There is nothing to fear in criticisms

Sep 05, 2008 Features / Columnists

Whenever people want to criticize the government the first thing that they do is to state that the government is afraid of criticisms. Recently, a child perished in a pit latrine and one of the people writing in the newspapers hinted that there should be an investigation but that this investigation would not be forthcoming because the government is afraid of what the findings may reveal.
“The ruling PPP administration likes to boast about accountability. Yet when it comes to the essence of accountability they fall far short of the required grade. The main reason for this is the perennial fear within ruling circles of having inquiries to determine what went wrong, what could have been done better and what needs to be improved upon.
“In this instance it is not a case of someone becoming dirty by falling into the pit. This is a tragic case. This incident at Santa Rosa has resulted in the loss of life of a young child and therefore it is necessary that an investigation be carried out that will answer some critical questions.”
That is what the writer stated in the Kaieteur News. The government recognizes that there are people who try to hide within the system and would therefore seek to thwart any investigation because they know that their shortcomings would be exposed and they would be called to book.
What these people do not realize is that by trying to protect themselves they end up implicating the government and that is why in most cases, when the government mounts an investigation the action is condign, if people are found to be at fault.
The death of that child in a pit latrine is the subject of an investigation mounted by the Ministry of Education and the findings would be made public. The investigation would ascertain whether the authorities constantly checked the condition of the pit latrine; whether they discovered flaws and reported these but failed to get any action; and whether there are other pit latrines in the community that need careful examination.
One thing that critics fail to accept is that some accidents are so rare that when they occur they seem rather outlandish. In this case it was indeed a freak accident, but it does not exonerate anyone who might have been responsible for monitoring the facilities.
The government expects criticisms, and even though some are without merit, this does not suggest that there is a fear of criticism. For example, the government was at pains to explain that the rise in food prices was not of its making and it conducted widespread forums to explain the global situation.
Today, the Guyanese people are more aware of what is going on, and they are responding to the measures that have been put in place to help them. But there must be criticisms, even in the best of times and the main opposition party is still trying to pin the blame for the rising food prices on the government, ignoring that during its tenure, things were so much worse.
During the days of the PNC people slept in lines to get the most basic of supplies and housewives spent their waking hours walking the streets to see if there were lines so that they could get food for the table. The PNC simply ignored criticisms while it pursued what was clearly a failed policy and presided over a period that is being described as the dark days of Guyana.
People also criticized the current fight against crime with some arguing that the efforts represented too little, too late. Today those critics are singing a different tune, because the end has justified the means. The security forces have removed one of the most dangerous persons from the face of the earth after years of trial and error.
The critics laughed when the security forces failed, but these very critics were oppressively silent when success was reaped.
The government is not afraid of criticisms, and in many cases it uses the criticisms to better approach situations, but criticisms all the time do no one any good. People should not use every opportunity to blame the government. They should also offer suggestions when they criticize, because it is easy to criticize, but extremely difficult to offer solutions.

Latest News

There is nothing to fear in criticisms

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| February, 14th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Slingerz FC shines at Guyana Energy Conference and Youth Forum

Guyana’s rising Chess stars take on Barbados

Elite clubs will challenge KFC monopoly on team...

Bristol named manager as Guyana gears up for 2025...

BCB puts a halt to cricket season due to...

Changes made to KMTC Phagwah Horse race meet

Features/Columnists

The clock and the cloud

CARICOM Nations Should Respond Together To new U.S. Policies

Wood snake year

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

There is nothing to fear in criticisms

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| February, 14th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]