What will President Jagdeo tell Guyanese in his Christmas and New Year messages?

Dec 24, 2008 Letters

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Dear Editor,
With the close of 2008, a year President Jagdeo had promised Guyanese social and economic advancement, Guyanese must begin to analyse their current status in the hope of ascertaining whether or not these 2008 promises were met.
Are we better off economically, than we were five years ago? Is Dr. Jagan’s 1992 promise of a livable wage, which leaves parents with, as he puts it, “money for sweets for the children” realised after 16 years of the PPP/C in office?
Clearly, 2008 has been a dismal and heart breaking year for all of us; we each suffered our own personal misgivings, but collectively we, as a nation, shared catastrophic grief, endured severe economic hardship and witnessed some unfortunate executive actions and behaviour.
So what will President Jagdeo tell Guyanese in his Christmas and New Year messages?
What can he say to reassure Guyanese that 2009 will be a year where decisive actions and decisions will be taken to improve their general socio-economic conditions? Secondly, how will the President convince Guyanese that his government is determined to improve the crime and security situation which has met unprecedented levels in 2008 and puts every Guyanese at risk and in unthinkable fear?
How will Guyanese know, and believe that the administration is committed to making us feel safe, again, in our homes, place of work, and the community?
Mr. Jagdeo, must therefore, tell the nation in his presentations, what he, and his government intend to do to make us feel safe in 2009. Guyanese must be presented with an overview of the government’s comprehensive crime fighting strategy, if there is one, in order that the President’s rhetoric be seen in serious terms.
Guyanese must also get a clear message that the government is serious in dealing with complaints of torture.
A clear message must therefore be sent to the nation, which signals the government’s clear and unequivocal intention to ensure that it will uphold its responsibility to protect the human rights of citizens. At least the President can uphold his promise, and lay the torture report in the public domain.
To close the year without delivering on this promise will further convince Guyanese that the government is bent on disrespecting us and playing politics with our human rights.
On the issue of bread and butter, the President must provide specific policy details as to how he and his administration intend to ease the economic burdens from the people in the new year. Good governance dictates that citizens be appraised as to how the billions of their tax paying dollars recouped as revenue, specifically through VAT, will contribute to their economic advancement.
It is not enough to intimate at vague capital projects in which this money might be used; the fact is that people are suffering and there needs to be a viable, sensible, tangible and realistic approach developed to directly impact on the lives of families. With the global financial crisis, governments all over the world are implementing practical measures to positively impact on the economic challenges of their people.
What about the Guyana government? Is it not conscionable, caring, or sympathetic to the challenges of its people who have been enduring economic hardships long before the global crisis emerged?
In addition to this urgent short term measure, the President must also tell Guyanese how his government intends to create or multiply jobs in the country, especially for the youth.
In the 1992 elections campaign, the PPP/C promised Guyanese the creation of 100,000 within their first term. It would be respectful if the President advises Guyanese as to what is the status with this laudable promise. In what sectors were these jobs created, if at all? Sixteen years since the PPP/C in office, Guyanese must be appraised on these most important issues. We are tired of being the recipient of “bare promises” that are touted with a clear propaganda intention, trumpeted up at campaign time.
For those of us who continue to suffer flood after flood, the President must tell us what steps will be taken to reduce our “flood stress” every time the rain pours. The excuse cannot simply be “it’s an act of God”. Guyana has its rainy seasons cut out and for decades now we have experienced horrendous down pours but never the kind of flooding we see today.
The issue of proper drainage and irrigation must be called into question. Have we repaired those breaches or common wear and tear likely to occur at kokers, sluices, etc? Was there an overhaul of the drainage system in the country after decades of use? What about the report of the 2005 flooding? What was accomplished after the report?
If the President had regular press briefings where he accounts for his stewardship and the performance of his government, his holiday messages need not to be surrounded around these very important and crucial issues, which hinge on citizens well being.
Like every Guyanese, I will be waiting to hear what the President has to say about leading the way to ensure that our total well being be improved.
We are expecting detailed, specific policies and programmes, where we can actually measure the level of achievement and hold the government accountable when it fails to deliver. This kind of scrutiny will take us on the road to a real kind of participatory democracy that is needed to move Guyana forward.
Let us pledge that in this new year we will be more involved in the workings of those who are in charge of our affairs. The fact that government’s policies and programmes advance will affect our lives and that of our children must be key to what drives our participation. We pay our taxes; we must have a say on how these monies are spent. Each of us is important and each of us has a say in how our government runs, so let us re-intensify our efforts to be more responsible citizens as the new year dawns. Governments are accountable to us and not the other way around, but for too long we were portrayed as the servants and not the masters. This perception must start reversing, if not for us, for our children’s sake.
Have a merry Christmas and a fulfilling New Year!
Lurlene Nestor

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