The Government needs to bend

Jan 03, 2009 Editorial

It is a new year, and people have made numerous wishes, all seeking to live better than they did last year. Some, if not the majority, would have wished for fortune, and others, for health. There are those who would have wished to migrate, because in their book every other place is better than Guyana.
That has been the trend for years, but over time there have been measures by the politicians to have people remain at home, since the country desperately needs its people if it is to go anywhere in this world.
The New Year dawned with the people doing a variety of things. There were those City Council employees who were not paid, so they had a little less than a good Christmas. They were paid yesterday. However, to their credit, some stuck to the task, safe in the knowledge that while many would be out of pocket, having spent excessively for the Christmas, these workers would have a few cents, unless they borrowed heavily to be a part of the Christmas madness.
For the greater part, though, Guyanese would be wishing for so many things, not least among them good governance, which many say seems to be missing from this country. Indeed, the Government insists that it is working in the interest of the people, but the opposition parties say that they have been excluded from just about every aspect of national life. In this issue, Raphael Trotman of the Alliance For Change anticipates violence in the National Assembly.
This would be unheard of in the history of independent Guyana. Parliament may be a forum where there are heated exchanges, where tempers flare, and where barbs are traded; but except for the odd occasion, one being when then Opposition Leader Dr Cheddi Jagan threw down the Speaker’s Mace, there has been no violence.
Trotman says that the Opposition has been reduced to nothing more than a rubber stamp, because even the most mundane amendment is ignored by the Government. We know that the Government is often reluctant to heed any proposal by the Opposition simply because some hold the view that the Opposition wants to accede to the seat of government through the back door.
There have been times when the Government side would allow some Bills to go to a select committee; but more often than not, proposals by the Opposition are ignored and are mere items to be recorded by the press.
One wish, then, is that there be a greater movement towards dialogue. Guyana has a population of less than one million people and there should be no need for the kind of division that exists. Every section of the society has a view; the cradle of knowledge does not reside in any one political party.
Government issues apart, there is also the question of flooding in parts of the country. Flooding always disrupts life, and there are Guyanese who, because of the excessive rainfall, have been virtually removed from national life.
The Government had announced that it had spent $1.7 billion to alleviate flooding. From the looks of things, this expenditure seems to have failed to provide the desired results. Alternatively, one can conclude that, had there not been an expenditure of such magnitude, the situation would have been much worse. That is not a pleasant task.
The Government, after conducting a feasibility study, said that it would be creating another waterway to ease the pressure o the East Demerara Water Conservancy. It is surprising that no work has started. There will be more rains in the not too distant future, given the global warming that is threatening the planet. Perhaps in the New Year there will be some work on that waterway.
Already the rains have caused some schools to keep their doors closed. Guyana cannot afford this, especially with the perception that education is continuing to decline.
There is the new Skeldon plant, which seems bogged down in construction details. Will these things improve in the new year? That is a question only the Government can answer, and it will need the support of the Opposition parties.

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