Army of working poor continues to swell in Guyana

Dec 30, 2013 Letters

Dear Editor,
In Guyana, more people are broke this Christmas holiday season than last mainly because of the regime’s failure to create jobs for the youths and those who want to work. And those who have jobs are living from pay-check to pay-check, that is they earn just enough to cover their basic expenses after turning over an obscene amount, by any measure, to the taxman’s purse. The army of the working poor continues to swell, with the ranks of window shoppers perhaps greater than at any time in the last twenty years.
The year 2013 has been bad on the economic front for the poor and the working class, and to make matters worse, their end of the year bonuses are the lowest amount in years. Teachers, nurses, and civil servants are angry at the regime for paying them slave-like wages and treating them like second-class citizens. They are angry with the constant foolishness that emanate from the mouths of several ministers including Home Affairs, Finance, Housing, Education, Natural Resources and the phony Bishop who changed his name after rape charges were filed against him as well as from the chief “CUSS-BIRD” who disrespected the dead especially the Jagans by cussing down his critics at Babu John every year and at a Pandit’s funeral. But this uncultured brat recently told the truth at a cricketer’s wedding when he said that he had little experience with a wife but much more with many husbands.
These are extremely tough times, where if they could, pennies would bleed, given how tightly they are being pinched by the average household and shopper. For this holiday season, trips to visit relatives in the city or to the rural areas of the country have been shelved because many cannot afford it. Others have to pinch the pennies when buying toys for their children or gifts for their relatives. How can the PPP cabal led by the Minister of Finance boast that Guyana’s GDP in 2013 is the highest in the Caribbean and yet the people are so poor and are struggling to survive? It does not make sense because hundreds of Guyanese are migrating to Surinam and the Caribbean every month. We have been apprised that there are several empty houses in almost every village on the Corentyne due to migration. It is not only the young UG graduates who are migrating, but also middle aged workers and even the elderly.
In his New Year’s Day message, the president told the nation that the year 2013 would be better. He did say that the economy would grow and expand, jobs would be created, salaries would increase and crime and corruption would be reduced. The truth is the only growth that many have experienced is the growth in corruption, crime and unemployment and the only increase is an increase in their blood pressure. The present condition means that Guyana has a malfunctioning, uncaring, greedy, selfish and corrupt government. The poor and the working class is so stressed out that it is damaging both their mental and physical health and several of them have collapsed under the pressure. Many of them reflect on how hard they have worked over the years, how they have paid their taxes and how they have never been a burden to the State. And yet, in 2013, they continue to struggle for their survival to the extent that hand-to-mouth existence is like a reflex action for them. Needless to say we have not even touched on the plight of the homeless and the beggars in the streets.
It is funny how the regime is always dead on in spending the taxpayers’ money recklessly in the name of economic development but rarely ever right when they promise improvement, job creation, reduction in corruption and crime and the enhancement of the lives of the poor. That is why the people have been subjected to bout after bout of financial hardship, year after year. While many are hoping that things will improve, we expect no change or a change for the worst. Why? Because we have a cabal that has done nothing to reduce crime, corruption or unemployment or even attempt to implement policies to improve the lives of the poor, but one that continues to sign secret deals, giving away Guyana’s most pristine territory for kick-backs, and using the state resources to enrich themselves, friends and relatives. But the day of reckoning for this corrupt regime is in sight.
Dr. Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh

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Army of working poor continues to swell in Guyana

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