A clarion call for us to fix our country

Sep 06, 2014 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Forty eight years after political independence we are still squabbling over issues of governance. Our political directorates give lip service to the principles of good governance; more specifically they have demonstrated a lack of understanding of their responsibilities to the citizens.
They are averse to accountability, transparency, rule of law and separation of power among others. So grave is the situation that it has given rise to dysfunctional state/ governmental bodies, incompetent government officials and pervasive corruption. At the local level, some of these problems can be stemmed with the holding of regular local government elections.
In every state, whether federal or unitary, local government elections serve to empower the citizens, and therefore it is unacceptable that these elections were not held in Guyana in excess of twenty years. It is important that we empower the citizens so that they can properly manage local affairs. To this end, we must ensure that local government bodies are staffed with competent personnel such as town clerks, overseers, accountants and engineers. Undeniably, a necessary precursor to effective governance at the local level is the establishment of the local government commission and the holding of regular elections.
At the national level, we must acknowledge that race-based politics have benefitted only a few, the political oligarchs and the criminals. It is indeed sad to know that our politicians use the biological and sociological differences that exist amongst the citizens to gain and maintain an advantage during elections. After elections they basically abandon their constituents to the extent that they fail to execute their manifesto.
Our citizens, especially those who are living in rural areas, are often subject to propaganda and misinformation. In any democratic society, people ought to have access to reliable information and should not be fed with hogwash that seeks to fulfill a partisan agenda. The grim reaper, race-based politics, has caused us enough pain; most notably, a low human development index, lack of political consensus and cooperation and perceived perpetual marginalization of those who are not aligned to the ruling elite. The solution lies in our ability to firstly recognize that there is a problem and elect those who are competent of governing the nation. Our decision should not be influenced by race or ethnicity, but by what is good for Guyana.
Commendably, the government has brought foreign direct investment (FDI), but most of the major investments are not transparent and the country has not reaped significant benefits. We have a high unemployment rate but yet foreign investors are allowed to import labourers. FDI must bring substantial benefits such as improving long term efficiency through greater competition, transfer of capital, technology and managerial skills and enhancement of market access. It ought to be a win-win situation for the country and investor and not the political oligarchs and investor.
Foreign investors must invest in training of the local labour force and facilitate the employment of Guyanese at all levels in their firms. We are endowed with natural resources and must ensure that they are exploited in a meaningful and sustainable manner. The proper use of our natural resources will certainly reduce the appalling poverty rate which stood at 43 percent, according to the World Bank Report 2011. Moreover, it will guarantee human and economic development and not hopelessness and despair.
Fellow citizens, this is a clarion call for us to fix our country. Yes we are tired of poor governance, inept politicians, corrupt public officials, questionable investments, pervasive crime, perpetual poverty and many more negatives. Soon you would be given the opportunity, use it wisely and put Guyana on the road to prosperity.
Lelon Saul

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News