Is this scandalous bribery in run up to general and regional elections?

Nov 06, 2011 News

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Asks Michael Benjamin  
North East La Penitence is a relatively quiet neighbourhood so the sounds of high powered guns renting the air a few years ago and disturbing the peace and tranquility must have alarmed the residents especially since it was the period of heightened criminal activities, when assassinations and phantom killings were the order of the day.
It turned out that the marauders were two wards away, in East Ruimveldt, and had wreaked havoc in that community, disappearing just before the police had responded to frantic calls.
When political activist, Ronald Waddell was assassinated, I was less than a mile away and I remember so clearly, the frightful sounds of the murder weapons. I also had similar experiences when gunmen once again visited my neighbourhood and attempted to assassinate three persons. Two of those individuals were seriously injured while the third managed to run to safety.
A few days ago, I was awakened by strange, humming sounds one street away. They were not the frightful sounds of high powered weapons but nonetheless caused me to be alarmed by dint of the fact that they were out of place. It was only after further investigations that my heart was at ease as those sounds emanated from machines sent to the area by, I guess, the Ministry of Works and Transport to effect repairs to the roads.
I am living in this particular area for some 15 years and these roads have been in a deplorable state long before that. Over the years, residents had pooled resources and bought builders’ waste in an attempt to fix the problem but to no avail; such works necessitated the intervention of the government since the costs were extremely prohibitive. When repeated requests failed, the residents naturally confined themselves to their fate.
Apart from the shoddy roads which led to severe damage of vehicles among other inconveniences, residents also had to put up with the filthy Mandela dumpsite and its putrid smell. Then there were the unhealthy billows of smoke whenever someone presumptuously or accidentally set the dump alight. Further, when the rains came residents had to put up with the unhealthy odour emanating from the dumpsite.
It took the overt action of social activists Freddie Kissoon and Mark Benschop, who picketed the site, for residents to receive relief. These two individuals were also locked up for a couple of days and hauled before the courts on several frivolous charges.
Whether through their actions or otherwise, the government decided to close the Le Repentir dumpsite, moving operations to Haags Bosch. While this was commendable, it was far from satisfactory since residents of the affected communities are convinced that community projects will only be undertaken by the government after strong overt actions compared to those assumed by Kissoon and Benschop.
The government has uncovered the lie of their analysis by commencing the road works devoid of protest action or strikes. However, while this act is commendable and while residents of the communities in question will obviously feel relieved after numerous years of waiting, it seems painfully obvious that the conduit to the implementation is most likely impending national and regional elections.
Construction of roads in areas deemed to be outside of its constituency is not the only ploy adopted by the incumbents in what is obviously a desperate effort to rake in valuable votes but there has been a flurry of activity in other areas and sectors.
Whereas in the past, government officials had agreed that public servants’ wages were inadequate and needed a shot in the arm, they had bemoaned the availability of the requisite funds to offset these increases.
Suddenly our economists have worked out the modalities that make these increases a reality. Public servants will now receive an eight percent   retroactive increase on their salaries much to their delight and the oppositions’ concerns.
Admittedly, the recently commissioned Aquatic Centre in Lilliendaal, East Coast Demerara had commenced some five years ago yet one cannot ignore the timings of its commissioning which fits nicely into the campaign season.
One also cannot ignore Mr. Jagdeo’s lamentations of his government’s inability to complete the plethora of sports infrastructure outlined in their manifesto in the last elections nor his subtle promise to address these initiatives during the new dispensation of government.
Speaking from a sportsman’s perspective, I would obviously laud the many institutions that were constructed by the government but even then, I am constrained to voice some displeasure in the way these facilities were constructed devoid of relevant input from those that really mattered. The Andrew ‘Six Heads’ Lewis Boxing Gym is one such. One only needs to examine the architectural designs to be convinced that the structure fails to meet the required standards of a boxing gym.
Most of the activities that should have been conducted within the confines of the building are now conducted in the wide open area instead. A ring, built to the required specifications, utilizes most of the area of the training hall.
The National Stadium has also come in for some criticism since it appears that in their haste to construct the facility the planners, maybe inadvertently, focused heavily on the Cricket World Cup and now that that event is over, maybe realize the foolhardiness of such one dimensional way of thinking.
In the meantime, the cycling fraternity hungers for a banked track, those that play hockey are still without a proper facility that meets competition standard while concerts and other activities are staged at the sports stadium.
Amidst the frenzy of activities to woo the voters in their corner, the politicians have opened the (voters) eyes to the immense power they wield. Now aware of those powers, the electorate would be careful in the way they exercise it since this opportunity comes only once in every five years; they must take full advantage of it.
The sports fraternity and every Guyanese, for that matter, should decide whether they are prepared to wait every five years for proactive initiatives or whether to assert their importance and take control at the impending elections. It’s as simple as that!

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