Bullyism or stupidity or both?

Apr 06, 2009 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Exactly one month ago (February, 5), in an article entitled, “Bullyism or stupidity,” I wrote the following; “The Licence Revenue Office is a very important place. Traffic is huge at that junction of Smyth and Princes Streets. To add to the misery, the GRA has transferred a section of its office there. Every new vehicle has to go to the Licence Revenue Office to have its engine number ascertained. Every second-hand car that is sold by one citizen to another has to go there too to ensure that the engine number is still the original one. When they begin to sell road licence, you cannot pass that junction.”

That pandemonium at the Licence Revenue Office was the subject of my February 5th column. I will ask readers to remember the last line in that quote. Let me repeat it; “When they begin to sell road licence you cannot pass that junction.” Now let us quote from Saturday’s Peeping Tom titled, “Frustration and stress at the Licence Revenue Office.” Here are the opening lines; “Tens of thousands of motor vehicle owners from Parika to Mahaica have to line up on Smyth Street, outside of the Licence Revenue Office (LRO) in order to take out their Road Service Licences. The lines are long and the wait infuriating.” Elsewhere in the articles, these words appear; “The LRO location is not the best. Parking space is a problem and thus you can imagine the confusion that reins (sic-should be rain) down when a large number of persons are going at the same time…”

In that February 5th article of mine, I looked at the stupidity of those who rule this land within the context of the continued location of the License Revenue Office at that particular junction in Charlestown. This is one of the most under-populated countries in the world (it has a world ranking like that). We are larger that all the CARICOM states combined. Yet since Independence in 1966, we have had that office there. But there were two reasons why the PNC Government since 1966 could have been excused. We had a tiny vehicular population from 1966 until, say about 1994. The number of wheels that the LRO had to register was small even after Independence.

Those numbers virtually dried up after balance of payments problems hit the Burnham Government in 1981. From 1981 to 1989, importation of vehicles had slowed down terribly. The reason had to do with this financial crunch. Where was Burnham going to find money after 1981 to move the LRO even if it had crossed his mind? We are now in 2009 where the percentage of vehicles has jumped into thousands and thousands of percentage over what obtained in 1981. The simple, commonsensical fact is that just as you cannot have a pit latrine at Queen’s College in 2009 you can no longer have the LRO at Smyth and Princess Street. It is not scientifically possible. The space is not there. The LRO should have been moved since 2000. In that very year, I did an article lamenting the continuation of that site

Two blocks away from the LRO, the Government is putting up a spanking Labour Ministry where the GBC radio station used to be. How cruel can a government get? Thousands of innocent citizens, many of whom have to take their kids to school, have to queue up for hours to get their road licence in a physical setting where there is no parking space. But a heartless government builds a huge Labour Ministry almost next door to serve who or to do what? When you write about the pathological incompetence of this government, the media is castigated for being the new opposition movement. But you have to look hard to find a more incompetent regime. I honestly believe in war-riddled Iraq and crisis-torn Pakistan they do better in administering state affairs than in Guyana

So was I right? I wrote my essay on the mess at Smyth and Princess Street on February 5th. On March 5, Peeping Tom is bitterly complaining about what I envisaged one month earlier. Predicting the incompetence of the ruling cabal in this country is so simple. I met my friend Barrington Braithwaite weeks before Carifesta outside the General Post Office and advised him to stay away because he will not get paid. I said to Barry; “I know this regime. You will not get paid.” Anyone can verify that with Barry. Was I wrong? I predicted what would be the outcome at UG with Dr. James Rose? Was I wrong? There is a new Vice-Chancellor there. I predicted that Karran Singh would get out of control. Was I wrong? He was fired last week