What can you do for Guyana?

Oct 02, 2012 Letters

---

 

Dear Editor,
Many times one sees in the newspapers people complaining how things are bad but rarely one sees new, fresh ideas being forwarded how to make things better and how to make Guyana a better place to live. The American President J F Kennedy once said, “Don’t ask what your country can do for you; ask yourself what you can do for your country.”
And with that in mind I will give some advice how things could be better.
Since 1980, I have been involved in the computer business. In particular, Data Base Management Systems or DBSM. A database can be compared with a set of information that is similar, like a Rolodex, where one manually goes through all the index cards on a rolling wheel. With a DBSM system it is like going through thousands of Rolodex card systems in seconds.  DBSM today is widely used in many private and government business all over the world.
Today we live in a new world… things change very rapidly. For example a new cell phone will fast become an old one in months. The same happens with cars and computers. To bring Guyana from a third world country into a second or even first world country, we have to look at the first and second world countries and see what they do to stay on the top.
To build a strong house, one has to build a strong foundation. What is the foundation of those first and second world countries, one might ask?
Well, for one it is accountability. To have a good accountable system is very important. When one looks back in time and at the great civilizations in time like the Greek and the Romans, we can see that they were very good at accounting. Accounting records have survived up to now.
It has been discovered that the first known writings of man, in Mesopotamia, was more than 5000 years ago where in fact accounts were kept of grains, taxes and other commodities.
To march a great army across a continent, one has to know how much food, weapons and salaries to account for and that takes accountability. A great civilization cannot exist with corruption and accountability suppresses corruption.
The Roman empire is said to have fallen when it became too corrupt and there was no more accountability. Corruption in a society is like cancer in one’s body; if it is not taken care of early it spreads and will eventually kill the person. Corruption will slow or stop a society from developing and remain a third world country forever.
Today, it is not really that hard to set up an accounting system that is versatile and flexible. All the tools are there and readily available. It is just a matter of wanting it and how to put it together. Today, in the Information Technology, it is possible to set up a system that is transparent, flexible, centralized and user friendly. Most of the systems have already been invented and it is no use to reinvent the wheel in that matter.
Government officials would benefit of having an Information Government (IGovernment or IG). However, some people don’t like to be accountable and prefer the corruption to hide their own misconducts. This is where corruption becomes a terminal cancer.
One of the systems in Guyana in dire straits is the Post Office (PO). It once took six months to get mail delivered from abroad.
Therefore, nobody relies on the PO anymore. I use DHL or other independent couriers to send important documents. The PO could be a self-sustained entity if it is managed properly. I was in the United States when the PO there got a new face lift. I played a small part in programming some parts of the Point Of Sales (POS) system.
Before, it was also losing money and in bad state- not as bad as here. They re-evaluated it and the result was that it became a profitable business and instead of losing money, it was making money and self-sufficient.  The PO is a very important entity to the nation. Important mail and parcels can be sent and delivered and bills can be paid. Many of these once important features can now be done electronically through the Information Technology Communications (ITC) systems. A lot of money can be made and saved.
In Georgetown, everybody can park for free. There has been talks before to implement parking meters. That is not a bad idea for the city. The city is in dire need of funds.
Parking would be a good source of income. But there is I think a very simple and effective new way to do it. In Europe there is a system called PIAF.  This system has several ways of paying the parking fee. One is Pay-and-Display. For that you need to buy a ticket at a machine and display that ticket on the dashboard of your car. Another way is to buy a credit card like display that must be placed on the dash board… the card shows a green light when there is money in the card or a red light when it is expired. The cards can be topped up like a cell phone.
Cars that in default of not paying can get a ticket. If there are unpaid tickets, then the car can be towed. The parking patrol officers are equipped with an electronic device to determine whether a particular car has outstanding tickets.
This system is much cheaper to install and maintain. Parking meters are expensive to purchase and take a lot of time to empty and recharge. Parking zones have to be created and marked with signs. Those signs could be sponsored by the local businesses. Good parking management is essential for good business. It makes no sense that some people leave their car all day at one location where shoppers and customers have no place to park to do their business. Systems likes half an hour or one hour slots could be implemented.
These are a few examples of what could be introduced in Guyana. There are many more. This is just the tip of the iceberg. When all Guyanese put their heads together and think about the future, instead of howling at old cows from the past, it could produce a second world or even a first world class country.
Theodore Roosevelt, a former US President said: “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” Let that be a lesson to all of us.
Emile Ceriel

---

---