Are the poor and the working class in Guyana better off now than they were nine months ago?

Sep 22, 2012 Letters

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Dear Editor,
It would be a challenging exercise for the Jagdeo/Ramotar regime to try to convince the poor and the working class into believing that their issues and concerns are being addressed by the current PPP regime. For one thing, corruption which has become overwhelming to any law-abiding law enforcer is now like cancer at an advanced stage.  Many are of the opinion it is only a matter of time left and no good governance medicine can help now.
Observing the public display of intolerance to this whole question of corruption on the NCN debate by none other than the Attorney General of the land was quite revealing.  If the persons who occupy offices that are supposed to be the protectors of the working class are now openly attacking any measure at cutting corruption with technicalities to guarantee a “cop-out” to preserve the corrupt status quo, then the faith of the poor and the working class is sealed.
They will continue to face the battle of having to satisfy themselves that they must stretch the crumbs to make ends meet.
Such arrogance from the PPP “apparatchiks” could only have manifested itself because the majority political opposition has continued to not do the job they were elected to do.  The revolution needs new leadership and we have no qualm in calling a spade a spade.  Mr. Granger as the Leader of the Opposition has failed the 51% that voted for him to sit in that chair.
It has been nine hard months for the poor and the working class with no end in sight to their suffering, just because the majority opposition cannot get their act together on the parliamentary agenda.
We take this opportunity to call on the Leadership in the AFC and the APNU/PNC to appoint respective plenipotentiaries to explore common political ground so that the people’s agenda can progress in a less slothful manner.  The overwhelming conclusion is that Mr. Granger is satisfied to be an armchair General and a Press Conference Leader.  This lethargy in leadership is giving the PPP a free reign to occupy all possible political space in the land.  What is wrong with these people?  Is this another era of Corbinism?
What we observe on the NCN-TV debate from the PPP “big-wigs” is an extremely high level of intolerance, indiscipline, vindictiveness, greed and power. They even had the brass to make untrue statements on national TV.  None of this would have been possible if the Office of the Majority Leader in parliament was functioning at a more optimal level.
We are demanding that the majority parliamentary leader of the opposition lead and bring a swift end to this repulsive attitude of not prioritizing and attending to the people’s business in a timely manner. How much more can the people take?
Below is just a small sub-set of examples of the PPP misrule and a most non-reactive leader of the opposition.  When will the people learn not to vote race anymore?
1.     Grand opportunity for massive corruption – KN Aug, 25, 2011
A proposal to hire South African firm to repair the US$200 million-dollar Skeldon Sugar Factory may be a grand opportunity to cover up massive corruption on a project not performing to par……
2.     No Chinese warranty for ‘botched’ Skeldon Sugar Factory – KN, June 26, 2012
….CEO says Chinese firm has no more obligations to GuySuCo
The Skeldon estate was designated to produce 110,000 tonnes of sugar per annum. In 2010, production was 33,237 tonnes and in 2011, production was 29,410 tonnes.
3.     NICIL’s refusal to hand over its $$$ is criminal – former Auditor General – KN MAY 6, 2012
-GGMC, GFC, Lotto also obligated
“I have no recollection that Parliament has authorized any expenditure from the NICIL accounts neither am I aware that NICIL, as a state-owned company incorporated under the Companies Act of 1991, has the authority to intercept funds that truly belong to the Consolidated Fund and to use such funds for purposes extraneous to the defraying of certain expenses referred to above.”
It is an open secret that Guyana’s economy will not grow at a rate to improve the lot of more people unless the PPP regime puts in place a strategy/programme that will provide employment for the youths and deal with the pressing issues affecting the poor and the working class. Even before he took the oath of office as President, Mr. Ramotar pledged to lift the confidence of the Guyanese people by working unwaveringly to achieve the desired growth and development to raise the standard of living in Guyana. After nine months in office, not one of these obligations has been met by the PPP. Are the poor and the working class in Guyana better off now than they were nine months ago?
Dr. Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh

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