The PPP/C and the 2012 Budget have failed to inspire Guyanese

Apr 08, 2012 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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By Trevor Williams

Guyanese at home and abroad continue to wait on their Government to configure the “puzzle” of management of Guyana’s economy in such a way to deliver a reasonable standard of living and equal opportunity for its citizens.
From the outside looking in, Guyana continues to be a country that promises much and delivers so little of value to its citizens. On the other hand, a majority of us within the borders continue to wait and hope for that “elusive new day “to dawn upon us. A standard of living that rests not on an ambitious dream, but one that is inspired by the nation’s capacity to house, clothe and feed its citizens – a nation possessing the capacity to develop on par and level with all its neighbours and those far off.

The fact is, there exists the means and potential to deliver this. Guyanese waited in eager expectation for news of economic and social relief, but there was none. Instead we were reminded on national television by a Junior Minister recently that the Old Age Pension is not an obligation of the Government. Can that comment ever be contextually acceptable?
We await the days when children in school will talk about their dreams of growing up to build this land and proudly serve the nation. The days when we would no longer queue up at the Immigration centre finalizing documentation to get out at all cost. The days when the system of justice will give confidence to citizens and serve as a deterrent to deviant behavior. The days when you can work and be promoted  for diligence and performance rather than from neptotism and connectedness. The days when those who waste and squander the nation’s resources are held accountable and made to comply within the legal framework of an effective justice system. Hopelessness is worse than an injury.
One recent conversation with a Caricom national left me very embarrassed when he asked me to name some of the natural resources found in Guyana. I was called a liar because I said the following, Guyana has rice, sugar, gold, bauxite, manganese, world class lumber, diamonds, uranium discovered, food crops, seafood, aquaculture, cattle ranches, produces and exports many other food items , craft/shops, a predominantly young population, teachers of the highest quality in the region (those that remain) etc. Unfortunately, I had no one to come to my defence, because I didn’t want to give a reason why we are running away in droves and happily populating and building other nations. I believe that daily, thousands of Guyanese are placed in this precarious position.
The ruling PPP/C must take responsibility for where Guyana is economically, politically and socially today. A significant amount of Guyanese remain marginalized and continue to struggle for their daily bread, while they watch hopelessly as all the rules continue to be broken, rights are trampled and injustice rules.
Our Government, while boasting about infrastructural advancement, huge spending, and personnel development, has failed to address constitutional and institutional inefficiencies and plug the holes of wanton wastage fuelled by institutionalized corruption.
Every year, citizens must bear the agony of being informed about rapid white-collar crimes and fraud of detrimental proportions. Unaccountability and secrecy still rules – ironically when there ought to be freedom of information, as over 75 % of the major deals in Guyana over the past decade were brought to light by foreign sources. In the year the former Agriculture Minister encouraged “Grow more”, food prices sky-rocketed, e.g. plantains moved from eighty dollars to one hundred and sixty per pound. VAT was introduced and billions came into the coffers; that we do know.
Prices continue to rise and the gap between rich and poor widens. Jobs are not created in quantity to match demand. A majority of Guyana’s youth remains unemployed or forced to leave home and head off to the interior. The Alliance For Change has advocated a regularized mining sector, where there remains equal opportunity for big and small alike, also ensuring value-added industries develop. The sugar workers have held record numbers of strikes as their frustrations become unbearable, and this is further understood by the outcomes of the Skeldon sugar factory.
What Guyanese must know is that even though the majority voted against the ruling PPP/C, the government thought it best to construct and deliver the national budget without consultation and opposition support. We recall the new President, Mr. Donald Ramotar, promising inclusivity. Where is inclusivity more expressed than in the decision-making process? Guyanese have long complained about renegotiating the percentage of VAT, corporate tax, import duties, old age pensions and the threshold.
Instead of addressing these issues, President Ramotar has continued to lash out at the opposition as if he was in an election year.
The President will do well to keep his campaign promises to: be inclusive, address corruption and constitutional reform; deliver Local Govt. Elections; reform the Security services; address Press freedom and fair allocation of State resources to all parties; enhance regional development; increase salaries for teachers, nurses and policemen, and adequately equip the military to secure our borders and tackle organized crime. Not just spend more money.
It does not inspire confidence. To be muzzled does not mean you are happy, it simple means you are restrained. Guyanese must now read and decide how many of the aforementioned issues the 2012 Budget 2012 addresses and to what extent.

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