The task ahead

May 26, 2015 Editorial

There is always a period when a new government enjoys a honeymoon. It is as if the people are saying that they welcome the change and that they expect the government to do better than its predecessor. When Dr. Cheddi Jagan came to power in 1992, there was an overwhelming outpouring of goodwill. Such was the outpouring that businessmen, caught up in the euphoria, opted to lower the exchange rate that prevailed at the time.
These businessmen did not take the economic reality into consideration but they were enthused with the election of the new government. It mattered not that within three days the artificial exchange rate created by the businessmen collapsed.
The government remained in place for twenty-three years and in that time it did many things, some of which helped propel Guyana into the group of middle income countries. But even this remains questionable since the international community continues to refer to Guyana as the third poorest country in the Western hemisphere, ahead of Nicaragua and Haiti.
A new government has acceded to office and again there is this outpouring of goodwill. The city is seeing a cleanup campaign the likes of which it never saw. People simply responded to the news that the 49th Independence anniversary would be observed from the Independence Arch on Brickdam. Almost immediately BK International began a campaign to restore the monument, and as if that was the needed catalyst there has been a citywide groundswell of cleanup and restoration activities.
President David Granger has not failed to acknowledge the response of the nation to his election. In fact, he has planned a major inauguration ceremony, this time at the National Stadium for the whole country. He has already revolutionized the government in ways never seen before. There is the imaginative rebranding of the various Ministries.
But above all is the drive to stamp out corruption. Undoubtedly, Guyana had become caught up in a vortex of corruption. There was the perception that every government Minister was on the take; there were reports of some public servants demanding bribes from contractors; there was also credible evidence that many government officials appeared to become filthy rich as soon as they assumed office.
People now expect the new government to go after those perceived to have been corrupt. Of course, there is so much evidence of unexplained wealth that the nation is now begging for answers. We know that every government that came on the scene always vowed that there would be no witch-hunt. The previous administration made such a promise but failed horribly to keep it.
The Granger administration has also made such a promise, but failing to track down those who defrauded the public treasury and otherwise preyed on the people who felt forced to accede to requests for bribes, could see him losing every ounce of goodwill he has received. In fact, failure could reduce his coalition to a one-term government because the disappointment of the people could be unbearable.
The task ahead would not be easy but Granger would be given the latitude to do anything that seems remotely akin to national development. For example he plans to revamp the public service. This was an institution that was allowed to decline to the pits. Public servants were among the most apathetic. Many simply went to the office because they wanted the pay and the public suffered.
Granger believes that a hike in pay could see a corresponding hike in attitude, but experience would teach him that he would have to install efficient leaders. He must also feed the aspiration of the young who voted overwhelmingly to put him in office. Continued joblessness is not an option. That is why he has to pursue the development projects almost immediately.
Unlike some of the governments in the past he will not have the luxury of relaxation after a victory. Get the hydroelectric project up and running; review and pursue the airport expansion project; undertake improvements in the rice industry and above all, do these things quickly.
Forbes Burnham, when he acceded to office in 1964 launched work on the new airport, the Soesdyke-Linden Highway and started work on a variety of projects, all of which created employment for the masses. He survived the very next elections.

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