Coming soon – ‘Who wants to be President’

Jul 25, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Please allow me to have a voice in this ongoing discussion surrounding who will be the president after the 2011 election.
I am sure that we are all familiar with the game show, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, well there is a show that will be staged here in Guyana soon called “Who Wants to be President”
There is talk about a coalition, a united front and even shared governance. All of this, I am sure, would be with the intention of taking Guyana forward – whatever that may mean to some of the wannabes.
Let me suggest that the first thing the parties should settle is who will be the respective presidential candidates. Therein lies the origin of the game “who wants to be president???”
The list is long and sad and it would seem as though that very list will get longer as the time for the next election draws closer. The PPP/C was touting Robert Persaud for quite some time but then his incompetence as Minister of Agriculture seems to have put a lid on that little dream. The big don is dreaming dreams and so is the long standing speaker of the assembly.
If the PPP/C does not intend to self-destruct then focus should be on a candidate who is smart, educated, well liked and has clout. Experience is good but that can come in a very short time.
My view is that the man best suited for the job is Moses Nagamoottoo but the rift that he had with the party or should I say that the party had with him, has left him out of the loop and so the lone man standing is Frank Anthony.
The AFC has managed to come to a very amicable and sensible conclusion in their leadership debate and so they are ready to do “battle”.
The PNCR ought to realise that there is a stigma still hanging over the head of Robert Corbin and with him as leader that party is going nowhere. My money is on Richard Van West Charles.
Watch for the surprise!!! The ‘champion’ is not remotely ready to give up all his free travelling and his red carpet receptions.
And do not forget that the sale of a US$600,000 home is quite an achievement for a Guyanese President. It shows that he did something at home. Was it acquired after marriage and before the divorce???
Is anyone looking to question such an achievement at home by our illustrious and honourable President? After all which of the Presidents ever made that much on the sale of any home in Guyana?
And I am telling you Mr. Editor, I will bet money that this nation will see a bid for a third term, by his Excellency, Bharrat Jagdeo.
That is where the PPP/C will self destruct. Whatever the outcome of the presidential candidate race it is my bet again that the PPP/C will not come close to a 50% win.
So, who will be president? We do not have all the contestants in as yet. Let’s first see “who wants to be president” and then we will decide.
Charrandass Persaud

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Grove/Diamond residents welcome stray catchers

Dear Editor,
I was extremely happy to read in the newspapers, the effort being made by the Government to rid the streets and our community of stray animals.
I hope however, that the stray catchers will also pay some attention to the Grove/Diamond area. Cows and horses are destroying your property on a daily basis. They converge on your property in droves and destroy the land as well as any structure.
They are not branded and therefore it is even more difficult to contact any owner. Not that it would matter because the owners are never seen or found after the damage has been done. You are left with the expense, with no one to compensate you. The animals are a danger to our children and everyone on the whole and can even cause death because at times they refuse to move.
It would be great to have telephone numbers of these stray catchers published in the media so that members of the public will be able to contact them.
Once again, we thank the government for the work they have started and we are looking forward to the stray catchers being in Grove/Diamond very soon.
V. M. Andrews

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Discrimination of any kind mixed with naked greed makes for a dangerous combination

Dear Editor,
I was one of several Guyanese leading the charge in the letters columns against armed and dangerous criminal elements (post-92) and then those posing as Freedom Fighters (2002-2005) who targeted innocent Guyanese, but especially Indians, to get at the PPP Government for allegedly discriminating against Blacks.
I also called out the late Desmond Hoyte and the PNC for their ‘slow fire, more fire’ street protests that turned ugly fast and which seemed to have created the environment conducive for criminal elements to carry out their demented attacks.
Along the way, these Freedom Fighters and other criminal elements started dropping like flies, thanks to what HPS, Dr. Roger Luncheon originally coined as the work of a ‘phantom group’ out there, but which we later learned was financed by Roger Khan, who relied on his own drug gang members and active and inactive police officers.
The irony here is that the government has its own share of criminals yet there is no ‘phantom group’ or even the police going after them the way Khan and his group went after the Freedom Fighters and other regular street criminals, and this is enough of a basis for the rest of society to cry discrimination. How can there be so much corruption in government and no major arrests?
Racial discrimination, as well as other forms of discrimination, by the way, is one of the three areas House Speaker, Mr. Ralph Ramkarran, recently listed for urgent tackling should he become President, which means he acknowledges that discrimination actually exists in government.
But just in case there is anyone out there who still harbours doubt about the existence of racial discrimination, here are five major cases involving the government that should be carefully considered:
1) The conglomerate of businessmen that purchased Guyana Stores Limited for US$6M, with an overdue balance of US$3M that caused the government to take the conglomerate to court to collect. Was this major state-owned business ever put on the bidding block, and is the IOU still on?
2) Roger Khan who ran drug and business empires (including acquiring state lands on which he built housing schemes) that helped finance his Phantom squad operation is an Indian Guyanese. Did the government, including the Police and GRA, ever investigate his holdings even after his New York sentence?
3) Dr. Ramsinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, who acquired the state-owned Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation and Sanata Complex, is an Indian Guyanese. Do these two companies get the bulk of government contracts that require public bidding or contracts that were traditionally shared to other local contractors?
4) Mr. Joshua Shafeek, originally named as a conspirator in the infamous Polar Beer scam and had charges against him dropped by the DPP, while others were not so lucky, is an Indian Guyanese. Does the company for which Mr. Shafeek work has in its employ a former cabinet member of the PPP regime?
5) Mr. Buddy Shivraj, who not only received a GY$168M sweetheart government loan for his hotel and had his fuel smuggling charges dismissed, is an Indian Guyanese. Was this hotel really a well thought out investment to serve the public over the long haul or was it just a short-term investment?
6) Mr. Ed Ahmad, a New York-based realtor, who was allowed to purchase prime GuySuCo property on the West Coast Demerara, is an Indian Guyanese. Was the state-owned property ever placed on the public bidding block?
Editor, before anyone thinks I am against Indian Guyanese (my paternal ancestors hail from India) investing in Guyana or benefiting from state deals, or I am trying to stir up racial tension, please be advised that I believe Guyana needs all the investments it can get from Guyanese of all races at home and abroad.
However, I also believe that there ought to be transparency in all investments involving public funds, state properties or resources, and that there definitely ought not be any reason for the public to think, let alone discover, that in this day of greater political enlightenment of the dangers of racial discrimination that the government blatantly favours one ethnic group over another.
So besides the names and ethnicities of those six persons I cited I want to know if there is any other single ethnic group in Guyana with these kinds of extremely generous state favours.
In fact, I would like to know the names of every single person with whom the government is using public funds to engage in public-private sector partnerships, not merely to determine the extent of racial discrimination, but who are the people enjoying most favoured persons (MFP) status.
If ethnic-based political favours happened in the past based on a traditional political culture, it cannot continue any longer because we are seeing some deeply troubling signs where ‘one set of people’ either own or have ready access to hundreds of millions of dollars to qualify them as ‘private sector investors’, while ‘other people’ are not so fortunate.
It is like as though there are hundreds of millions of foreign dollars to ‘burn’ (someone said wash) and so time may be running out to act.
If this trend of discrimination or most favoured persons continues unaltered, after a while, we may be looking at one group of egregiously wealthy Guyanese who pretty much owns most of Guyana.
This is dangerous for our country on so many levels, but particularly with the potential for the fight against racial discrimination being joined by a fight of one class (the have-nots) against another class (the haves).
Whatever happened to the dictatorship of the proletariat concept that once under girded the PPP?
Meanwhile, I have also tried, without success, to find how many Guyanese have so far been convicted and sentenced under the Money Laundering Act, because in a country where money laundering is pivotal to the booming underground or parallel economy, I was stunned when someone told me that a Black woman was the first and only to be convicted and sentenced under this law.
Will someone please tell me that this is not true?
“There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed” – Mahatma Gandhi.
Emile Mervin

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Kwakwani needs people with the will to see the community progress

Dear Editor,
There is a saying that is very true for the residents of Kwakwani, “If you don’t know where you came from, you will not know where you are and it is impossible to know where you are going”.
Unless we the resident of Kwakwani can reflect on our history, all the financial assistance to fix whatever infrastructure the community have will continue to go wasted.
I have said over and over that the community needs people with the will to see the community progress.
Persons with a similar will as those who in time gone by, worked with the stake holders in the community to build our first teachers’ hostel, our secondary school and transform the Kwakwani-Ituni bush trail into a decent road.
All of these achievements for the benefit of our community were derived without the names of the project initiators or financial cost even mentioned.
There was unity in purpose for the benefit of the community. And all of this took place when 80% of the religions were worshiping under one roof (using one building as church).
The objective of the community in that era was to work with the companies to ensure their corporate responsibilities.
Every company knows about corporate responsibilities and work with communities to fulfill same, but will not hesitate to cut its support if they are not seeing progress.
When BCGI (Rusal) started operating in Kwakwani, they started by giving to the Kwakwani community $100,000 per month to assist with development and fuel to assist with garbage collection. Systems were also put in place for community leaders to sit with the management to discuss other ways the management can assist the community.
Any company would have cut their financial assistance if there is no development and stop supplying fuel if the garbage is not picked up.
But what about the system to discuss other forms of assistance to the community? The leaders are not interested because there is no money to spend.
A walk around Kwakwani is testimony of the leadership we have.
No amount of money in the hands of these leaders will make a difference. The will to do things different and get it done is what is needed.
Jocelyn Morian

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An unfair situation

Dear Editor,
I have a question for the Guyana Power and Light (GPL): why is it that as consumers we are being made to suffer disconnection, and also pay reconnection fees as a result of the incompetence of employees of the Post Office Corporation?
For some reason or reasons we do not receive our electricity bills on time. There are instances where more than one week is passed after the due date for payment and we still do not receive our bills from the Post Office.
When checks are made at the GPL’s Regional Office at Vreed-en-Hoop, and complaints are lodged, consumers are being told that bills have been sent out long ago to the Post Offices and that GPL is not in any way responsible for customers not receiving their bills.
To add to the frustration that consumers already have, we are sometimes told that consumers who do no pay outstanding balance before the due date for payment will be disconnected. GPL employees then proceed with their disconnection campaign. How can this be fair to us?
Let me give an example as to the level of incompetence of employees at the Post Office Corporation and their total disregard for consumers of electricity.
Payment due date for outstanding balance on June, 2010 bill was on July 14, 2010. As I pen this letter, more than one week after the due date has passed; residents of my village still did not receive their electricity bills for June, 2010.
I made enquires on July 16, 2010 at GPL’s Regional Office after I was made to understand that the payment due date has passed, and was told that bills have been dispatched to Post Offices for distribution.
I immediately left and went to the Leonora Post Office in person to uplift my bill. I was given my bill, but to my disbelief, huge piles of bills were on the counters not even sorted out because I had to wait for some time until my bill was found. I eventually paid my bill at the GPL’s Office. On July 19, 2010, I came across GPL disconnection crew in the area where I work conducting investigation and disconnection.
I made enquiries with one of the crew men and was told that they are disconnecting for non-payment of balance on the present bill (June, 2010).
I was told that the billing system is a new one and if payments are not made prior to the payment due date, disconnection will take place. I was told it’s a new system, thus the new billing system by GPL.
How can this be fair? This is totally unfair. Consumers should not be made to suffer as a result of the Post Office employees not doing their work. To date, residents of our community still are not in receipt of their bills.
Why is it that residents have to travel to the Post Office to collect their electricity bills like I did when the Post Office is supposed to provide such services?
I strongly suggest that if the Post Office employees cannot get their acts together, that they simply bow out and make room for new and more competent staff. However, we still need answers.
J. Tekchand

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World Cup Football: a unique spectacle

Dear Editor,
World Cup Football is the greatest, most competitive, exciting and viewed international sporting event.
The recently concluded tournament was and will be remembered as unique even among World Cup finals.
Firstly, South Africa has proven to the world that as a nation they are capable of performing at the highest level with respect to organising and executing major sporting events.
World Cup cricket, rugby and now football were all successfully staged within this very proud nation.
It is no surprise that South Africa is now vying for Olympics 2020. I sincerely hope that Nelson Mandela lives long enough to ensure a successful bid.
Among the benefits to this host nation is the exposure to the world of South African culture, enthusiasm, love of sport, hospitality and beautiful sites and sceneries within the many cities where football games were displayed.
The uniqueness of this World Cup was evident from the early stages where traditional power houses were eliminated such as former champions Italy, France, and England.
In the round of 16 and quarter finals the trend continued with Brazil, Argentina and Ghana, the last hope of African sent packing.
The much touted, highly paid “stars” such as Ronaldo, Rooney, Kaka, Canavaro, Messi, Robinho, etc did not shine.
New names and new teams provided the highlights of the tournament. Golden Ball winner Diego Forlan of Uruguay, Golden Boot and Best New Comer Thomas Mueller, along with midfielder Ozil of Germany; Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta of Spain and Wesley Snijder of the Netherlands were exciting to watch.
The usual strengths of technique, skill and tactics proved not to be the key ingredients of the successful teams (last 4).
However characteristics such as physical and mental strength, discipline and determination proved to be vital.
With the introduction to the world of the “vuvuzela,” those present in South Africa whether player, commentator or spectator had to adapt to the disturbing, disorienting and often penetrating sounds emanating from this getting-used-to instrument.
Communications were limited to body language, eye contact, and movement since verbal and other forms of communication were rendered in-effective and useless.
This made many supposedly good players appear mediocre.
The deafening noise from the vuvuzelas prevented even the best from concentrating and therefore performances were reduced to mediocrity, affecting technique and execution.
In addition to the mental toughness required to perform credibly in South Africa, physical strength and endurance proved to be pivotal.
Many of the games were very physical in nature with the finals being the most physical with a total of 14 yellow and one red card issued.
The unusual and uncharacteristic weather, elevation and topography also proved detrimental to many teams.
Many pundits, fans, commentators, as well as players, arrived in South Africa with an expectation of business as usual, where the traditional dominant teams and their star-studded players would have stamped their authority on proceedings.
At the end of it all, the two teams that were vying for the crown neither had ever won the title of world champions and it was Spain who had never previously advanced beyond quarter finals registered their first win.
Among the unique qualities of the world cup finals, Spain is the only team in World Cup history to have won the championship after losing their first group game.
They are also the only team to have won the crown with only five goals.
Germany, Argentina, Brazil and Portugal had more goals but ended up losers.
In conclusion, this World Cup also proved unequivocally, that great players (such as Dunga and Maradona) do not necessarily make good coaches.
To further strengthen this point, only two coaches have ever won the world cup after winning it as players; Mario Zagallo of Brazil and Franz Beckenbaur of Germany.
Africa’s first World Cup and the nineteenth edition have now added an eight country to the list of winners; Brazil 5, Italy 4, Germany 3, Argentina 2, Uruguay 2, France 1, England 1 and Spain 1.
Bilaal Eusi Nantambu

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Man’s best friend or worst enemy?

Dear Editor,
In 2002, CNN carried an article on its website that focused on 15,000 years with man’s best friend — dogs. Man’s best friend, the article revealed, have over the years, developed unique ways of understanding human beings. But coming back to present day, how have we human beings tried to understand dogs?
It’s a valid question for all of us, especially here in Guyana, where we have a “dog overpopulation epidemic” among our midst. You walk or travel anywhere in this country and you are bound to see dozens of dogs on the road, left abandoned, running aimlessly, sometimes in front of traffic and — just like that — they meet their demise!
I challenge any reader, to go right now outside, especially if they live in a rural area, just look outdoors, on the road, and you will see a dog which clearly has no owner or home.
The sadder part of this tragedy is that many of these animals are mating continuously, every day, and more dogs arrive in this sad part of the world, only to meet lives of hardships, starvation, and hopelessness, if they knew what that felt like.
But they do know. Dogs are so close to human beings. Not in the literal sense, but dogs have numerous characteristics as human beings: they show emotion; they can be happy, or sad, even cry; dogs are so unlike other animals in the animal kingdom.
They respond to actions by human beings, sometimes negatively or positively, depending on the action.
They are loyal beings. They can be ferocious beings too. They will lay down their lives for their owners.
They will howl in the nights in sadness or distress, especially if they miss one of their own who probably died or ran away. Yes, dogs are running away from their owners these days, because they are cooped up and locked up all day. Dogs, too, need their freedom to be walked and taken out regularly by their owners. Does this happen in Guyana?
This brings me to the next point. How many persons in Guyana can properly and dutifully care for a dog? I see SN putting a dog’s photograph (they’re so adorable) in the Vet Column (an act by this newspaper which I find very noble, not to mention interesting and informative) and asking members of the public to take them home.
Does the GSPCA interview potential dog owners before they allow them to own one of their dogs? Many Guyanese are anxious and willing to care for pets but have not an idea as to how to really do this.
Hence, they should not be allowed to care for dogs if they cannot devote the time to really care for this animal, to walk him out everyday, to give him proper meals, take him to the vet for regular check-ups and de-worming, and just spending leisure time loving and being with their pets. I believe as a society, we have lost our senses when it comes to caring for animals.
Dogs are so intelligent. Studies in 2002 have shown that dogs have responded better to human needs tests better than chimpanzees (whom we believe are closest to humans in terms of genetics, etc). Dogs really do understand what we try to communicate to them; they truly understand what we desire of them, too. The behaviour of dogs has astounded scientists over the years. Dogs have truly earned their place in the animal kingdom.
How do we thank these noble animals for their protection and service and unconditional love to human beings? We leave them out in the cold to wander the streets, searching for food, getting into fights with other packs of dogs, getting beaten up and battered.
I usually pass dozens of dogs just wandering about on the road. Some of them are bruised and maimed. Many are ridden with skin diseases that would make one turn his eyes away, the scorn, the devastation, the heart brokenness one feels, the powerlessness of not being able to do much for these animals is truly inexplicable.
There is one writer who writes to the newspapers about the welfare of dogs and such. What are they doing about the dogs in Berbice? Can’t they establish a shelter here in Berbice to address the concerns of these voiceless animals? How much would it take for them to stop focusing so much in Georgetown — yes there is a great need in Georgetown — but there is also a greater need in Berbice too, in New Amsterdam, where dogs run rampant, everywhere you turn, dogs are present, without ownership, without a life, they are suffering.
Dogs are suffering so much in Guyana. Drivers and motorists value no life anymore. They hit down cats and dogs and other animals on the road.
The results are there to see, the results of their thoughtless, gruesome actions — dead, unsightly, dead bodies of cats and dogs strewn to pieces on the roadways.
Animals have rights and are cared for in other countries, not here. Many of us can’t even look after ourselves. We are so unkind to animals in Guyana.
Leon Jameson Suseran

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