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The political leaders and the political system have failed the people of this country

Feb 04, 2013 Letters

Dear Editor,
As a young man growing up on the West Bank of the Demerara River I had dreams about this country becoming great. At that time there were many clubs that helped to fashion the character of youths and the village fathers and community leaders established standards and behavioral dispositions that were worthy of emulating.
With the emergence of local political organizations and more particularly after the split in the PPP many youth and community organizations metamorphosed as appendices to the dominant political organizations. The focus was then transformed from the personal and social development of the individual and community to the unwavering support of the political parties and the virtual neglect of the non-aligned individuals.
After the change in the first past the post system of electing one’s representative to parliament and the introduction of proportional representation the identification of a community’s representative became blurred and parliamentarians were no longer answerable to their constituency but to the leadership of the party on whose slate they had appeared. That political sleight clouded the concept of accountability to one’s constituency since the constituency was now the entire country under this new arrangement.
The outcome of the above change resulted in the institutions of government being used in part to facilitate and compensate party stalwarts for their loyalty and support. Positions of authority and influence in these institutions are in many instances offered to party comrades irrespective of whether they have the relevant knowledge, skills, attitude, aptitudes and competence to perform. Additionally, the situation afforded the leadership of the party to feather the nests of friends and family.
That paradigm shift culminated in the kinds of pervasive frauds and corruption that is frequently reported. The behaviour manifested by some of our current crop of politicians seems to indicate that people are getting into politics to enrich themselves and not improve the lot of the populace and develop the country.
Therefore, funds that should be utilized for the teaching of life skills and the development of programmes and institutionsthat would benefit the people are being siphoned off into the offshore and hidden bank accounts of those who are in positions to do so. Meanwhile, the natural resources of the country are being raped and squandered and the people are none the better it.
Hubert C. Roberts

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