Too much of a hurry can be a bad thing

Dec 27, 2015 Features / Columnists, My Column

---

The year is fast drawing to a close. In fact, this is my last column for the year. I would have preferred it to be light, but I could not help revisiting this issue of trying to jail all those who participated in activities that might not have been in the best interest of the country.
Before the elections there was a lot of talk about corruption. There were people who were far from being affluent before they got into Government, and who suddenly became so affluent that they could own countless properties. There were also those who shipped money overseas into foreign accounts, money that they did not truly earn.
After the elections there was talk of jailing many of those suspected of conducting illegal acts. And so began the audits that uncovered numerous things that caused more than raised eyebrows. One of the audits had to do with the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited.
Undoubtedly, Winston Brassington had to take the spotlight, because he was the man who was spending billions of dollars and caring not to tell the nation why. He was the architect of confidentiality, so there were numerous confidentiality clauses.
In the end, the audit appeared to be damning, but Brassington said that there was an explanation for everything that the auditors found to be out of the way. Then he offered another reason—that he was taking instructions from the board of directors and from the Cabinet of Ministers.
The fact that one takes an unlawful instruction makes one complicit in the illegality. Four men took an order to kill the Robb Street granny. Everyone would argue that they killed, but the fact remains that they executed an unlawful instruction. Brassington could find himself in this situation.
But there is this fact that has to be considered.  Is there anything that the police could find to charge Brassington with a crime? Did he gain from the execution of these orders that he executed?  And did these orders deliberately defraud the government and the state?
I know that there were those who thought that there was nothing that they could do to ensure that Brassington be placed before the courts. Instead, there was the belief that they could work with Brassington and get him to help them in the execution of their duties.
The fact that Brassington has been sent on immediate leave has angered many. They feel that the state has wasted an asset. But the wider society believes otherwise. They voted to put an end to corruption and they expect to see action. That is why many feel that the government has been tardy.
When the federal authorities go after someone, sometimes they spend two or three years gathering information, so that when they move they have an airtight case. That is the case everywhere. However, Guyana is an impatient country trying to get where people believe that it should be.
Things actually reached the stage where there were people who had joined the ranks of the corrupt. But for all the expectations, there have been positive developments. It is indeed unfortunate that the government came into office at a time of falling commodity prices. Gold is not making the money it did during the heyday; rice prices are also down although production has climbed higher than last year’s.
Oil prices remain low, so that has helped to cushion the impact of the lower prices in the other areas. We are not spending as much on oil imports.
The claim by the opposition that business has slowed might be true, but when one looks at the achievements, one cannot help but applaud the government. I have seen the transformation in sections of the city. Merriman Mall is now a recreation park, at a time when people were so scared to venture there after dark.
In eight months the government has done what the previous government failed to do in 23 years. It has taken the people into its confidence. But does this mean much? The ordinary man is never satisfied with his station, and this is the challenge that any government would have to confront.
Anyhow, the holidays have been among the best that many enjoyed. The $50,000 that the government gave to public servants ensured a spending spree that was unprecedented. What people did not know was that they also provided some impetus to the economy. This should only continue during the coming year.
What can I expect in the New Year?
For sure I know that there would be efforts to further reduce unemployment. There is going to be a continuation of the infrastructure development in the mould of the cleaning exercise. Many of the people working in the cleaning gangs actually boasted of a merry Christmas. They had money in their pockets.
There will be people development efforts. Training institutions would be enhanced. I can see greater inputs into institutions like the Cyril Potter College of Education, the University of Guyana and the Government Technical Institutes.
I expect better qualified people to join the labour force in the coming days and above all, I expect more from the people who know that they are needed to further contribute to development.

---

---