A brief period of reckoning

May 27, 2015 Editorial

Today our country appears to be going through a brief period of reckoning after all the seeming elements of misfortune that took place under the former government. Adversity happens every day, everywhere, even in the developed countries. Guyana is no different.
And since it is widely understood that there is bound to be misfortune, those administrators should have been prepared to manage such setbacks with experience or requisite knowledge. But it was clear that the policy was to put party members, even if grossly unqualified or inexperienced to run ministries and other key departments of the state.
A careful assessment of some ministries in the government shows that this was clearly the case. Nothing new was done and there were no plans or visions.
For more than a decade, the social responsibility of health care, housing, education, infrastructure, and other elements that make up what is called good governance were not maintained due to mismanagement and misuse of the financial resources. There was never a vision from the political leadership of how to create value for these things. The only tried and tested means they knew of creating value was to take from the treasury which they had hoped would last forever. But they were wrong.
The people became tired of this modus operandi and voted to change the direction of the country. From the outset, they recognised that they had leaders who were more interested in personal gains instead of the interests of the almost 750,000 persons who reside in this resource-rich country.
With the colossal failure of the leaders, the political system of governance under the PPP was called into question. There was no accountability or transparency or consultation with the people on how tax dollars were spent. The present constitution gives absolute power to individuals in the government to make or break laws, and fosters constant rivalry among a select few to gain State power. That particular system is flawed because as Lord Acton once said, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
The citizens have demonstrated that they are more than capable of overcoming obstacles in every aspect of life when given the opportunity. But it was clear that the lack of honest leadership was the first step of political betrayal of the people by leaders who were selfish, greedy, vindictive, poor judges of character, untrustworthy and corrupt, and who were never interested in good governance. Trust was required more than ever. And trust, once lost, is not easily regained. Guyanese, almost without exception, have been outstanding at anything they do, inside and outside of Guyana, which says much about how most would have felt about the continued bad governance.
Surprisingly, despite this indifference shown to the citizenry, the former leaders of the PPP and the old money capitalist merchants who supported them were stunned by their defeat at the polls.
The lack of proper management and accountability from the PPP which led to the rapid breakdown of government structures does not bode well for the new government. But there are many very qualified and capable people in this administration to manage the country’s resources and govern effectively in the interests of all.
A famous Chinese proverb tells us that the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. The David Granger-led Coalition government has made that first step with a massive clean-up campaign, the re-naming of some ministries for purposes of being more direct in its approach to the needs of the people, as well as the release of prisoners who committed minor, non-violent offences.
It is good to have a qualified and informed leader. David Granger had an exemplary career in the military. Guyanese are hoping that the attributes from that phase of his life are present at this critical juncture of the country’s existence.

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A brief period of reckoning

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