GUYANA NEEDS ITS BEST PEOPLE AT THIS TIME

May 16, 2015 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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The publisher of this newspaper, Mr. Glenn Lall, will not agree or like some of the things that I will say in this column, but he will always respect my right to say them.
When I first learnt that the opposition coalition had won the elections of May 11, 2015, my first thoughts were not about David Granger or Moses Nagamootoo. My first thoughts were about Glenn Lall.
I immediately called him and expressed my congratulations to him. He asked me why I was congratulating him. I told him that the victory was his work.
He reprimanded me. He took no credit whatsoever for the victory. He said it had nothing to do with him, or with Granger or with Nagamootoo. It was for him the work of God, and it was God that had delivered this country out of the hands of the People’s Progressive Party Civic.
I could only reply that in that case, he was the instrument of God, because it was only one man and one man alone that stood up to the wrongdoing of the PPPC regime. That man was Glenn Lall. When everyone else was timid, he was fearless. When so many were afraid, he was brave. When everyone was silent, he let scream his opposition to what he saw was happening.
He was particularly peeved about two tendencies that had taken over the government. The first was the PPPC’s proclivity to make a wrong appear as right. This is why the result of the May 11 elections is seen as a victory for moral politics. The electorate has opted – narrowly as it did – for opposing those in government who believe that a wrong should be a right.
The electorate has also voted against the PPPC’s treating of Guyana as if it were the personal property of their leaders. The results of the elections therefore offer hope that there will be a fairer and more even distribution of the wealth of Guyana, instead of the PPPC’s affinity to being handing out resources to its cronies and friends.
The man who first protested against these things was Glenn Lall. He has to therefore be seen as the forerunner to the movement that emerged, and which ultimately led to sufficiently large enough fissures in race voting to permit a new government. We have not, obviously, as yet disposed of ethnic politics, but a crack has emerged, one that offers hope for the eventual demise of race voting.
A new government will soon assume office. It will be expected to move away from the politics of wrong being right, and the economics of deploying the resources of the State for the personal benefit of self, friends and cronies. In other words, the new government will be expected to uphold a higher standard of governance.  Glenn will be watching them just like he watched the PPPC.
The new government will also have to chip away at the racial polarization of Guyana’s politics. In this regard, the new government will have to be inclusive. The result of the elections was a virtual statistical dead heat, with the coalition barely getting its nose in front. The coalition therefore cannot by itself represent a government of national unity and it should cease parroting this falsehood. Since the PPPC is not going to come on board, this presents a dilemma in terms of achieving a broad-based government.  One way to attenuate for this is to involve persons from civil society at all levels of government.
Glenn Lall has made it clear that he does not want anything from the government. All he wants is the good of Guyana. But while he is not seeking any position or favours, I believe that he has certain skills that the new government should utilize. He may not like me saying this because he is not after power, or prestige of positions.
One thing has stood out about Glenn Lall over the years I have known him: he understands business. He was not born with a gold spoon in his mouth. He is a self- made man. He worked very hard, at times sleeping at airports, in order to make himself the successful person he is today.
Over those years he has learnt a lot about business. There is no one who can fool him about the cost of buying or constructing anything. He has been there, done that, and has all the knowledge about these types of matters. This is why he was able to expose the high cost of tenders for projects in Guyana. This is why he has an eye for overpriced items.
I know he will not like me saying this, but I would like to see the new government involve someone like him in providing oversight over the Tender Board. I am confident that those bogus contractors and their inflated estimates will not pass muster if he has a role in overseeing the evaluations of the tenders.
Guyana needs now to utilize its best human resources. And amongst the best of them all is Glenn Lall.

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