UNCLE DONALD IT IS TIME FOR ACTION!

Aug 13, 2012 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

An open letter to the President of Guyana

Dear President Ramotar,
You are a most likeable person. Some say that you are more likeable than Santa Claus and that you are too nice a man to be involved in politics.
However, you have made politics your life and therefore you must accept the consequences of that choice. I hope that you will prove wrong those who say that politics is not for nice guys.
No one is asking you to change your personality. In fact people want you to remain who you are. Anyone who knows you will confirm that you are a good man, and you are decent and honorable to the bone. You do not harbor bitterness in your heart, you have the common touch, you listen very well and you are not self-centered as you know who. In the context of Guyana, you are also a man of integrity and fingers have never been pointed at you over any allegation of wrongdoing.
These are all good qualities, but people no longer want to hear about your integrity, your decency and your good heartedness. They want to see you taking action on many of the things that are wrong in this country. They want action from you, Mr. President. They want action and not just the comfort of knowing that they have a President who is a good man.
The people understand the challenges you face. They know that your hands were tied in choosing your Cabinet because you had to choose from a list that was not solely of your making. You were also constrained by the new parliamentary dispensation which limited your freedom to seek sweeping changes quickly with the government. Also, the need for continuity has also meant that you were forced to retain persons who are not likely to act in your best interest.
While you may feel an obligation to be a nice guy to these persons, this tendency has been the downfall of many a politician. Politics is not always about being on too close terms with those around you. You are now the leader of Guyana. You owe no loyalty to those under you; they owe loyalty to you and they have to serve your interest. If they cannot do so; you should remove them.
You have dealt in a wise way with many of the conflicts that have presented themselves during your term. But where people want the most action is in the area of corruption. No one is asking you to behave in a hasty and reckless manner and begin dismissing persons left, right and center. That will win you many admirers but will also win you even more detractors. In any event that is not your personality and many in the Opposition would love to see you go on a dismissal spree to settle scores they wish to settle. That too would be ill-advised
All that is needed is that when situations present themselves to you to act, you do so with fairness, alacrity and professionalism.
There are two situations that have presented themselves recently that will test how far you are willing to go in dealing with this problem of corruption.
The first concerns the problems at NCN. Your government did the right thing when it called in the auditors to examine allegations of financial improprieties at the state-owned entity. But it needs to be asked now that the report is in what are you, as President, going to do about the situation.
The Board has taken some action but it needs to be asked if this is the limit of the actions that are going to be taken. While it is the Board who has to act, it is also your duty as Minister of Information to express how you feel about that report and to suggest actions to be taken. And if the Board does not listen to the President, you know what to do.
The people of Guyana do not need the audit report to be kept secret It is already public knowledge that you are the most open President this country has had even though you have been there for only eight months. You have made public all the major deals that were signed by the previous government and your ministers have been answering the questions put to them in parliament even though there is no legal obligation to do so.
This is commendable. But the public needs to be sure that the issues over financial irregularities at NCN are not being treated with kid gloves and that appropriate sanctions were or are being applied so as to act as a deterrent and to signal the seriousness with which you treat with corruption..
The second issue also concerns corruption. A major road contract has been terminated and the contractor is beginning to whistle about approaches that were allegedly made to him.
There are two aspects to this issue that you need to deal with condignly. The first is that you should ensure that fair play was involved in the termination of a contract. While many contractors have in the past been found to be at fault when it comes to public works, a contract should never be terminated unless all sides are heard.
It is not in the public’s interest for contracts to be terminated without at least exploring all options for resolving the grouses which may have arrived. It cannot be fair to the contractor for this to happen and it cannot be fair to taxpayers who will be saddled with additional costs because of the contract having to go back to tender.
The contractor is contending that he was not at fault. His side needs to be looked at. He is also alleging that the basis for the withdrawal of the contract stemmed from false reports made about the work he was doing. These false reports it is alleged, were actuated by malice because of him refusing to consent to improper demands for money and favors.
The right way to deal with these allegations is to have them investigated by an impartial tribunal. This would allow for what the contractor is saying to be investigated and would allow for greater confidence in the system.
It is left to see what action you would be taking in this matter as well as what additional action is going to be taken in relation to the problems at NCN.