What a mess this country is; what a mess it is in

Mar 18, 2016 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

A big confidential meeting in the boardroom of the Court of Appeal took place last Wednesday. The topic? Commonsense.
Present were the top guns of the Judiciary and the big wigs in the Executive minus the President. The subject-matter was not the area of intrigue. It was the reason for such a confabulation. Overcrowding in prisons was the only item on the agenda. The reason for thinking about the subject was because 17 prisoners in the Camp Street jail met a horrible death in a violent protest – they were burnt alive.
The obvious question that even a primary school kid would naturally ask – if those deaths did not happen, would the big boys have had that meeting? The answer is no. The deaths are now history. The curiosity is where does this country go after such a horrible, unspeakable, unimaginable tragedy? The answer is that it is going nowhere.
Do people with power understand their role in Guyana? Will that power be used to transform this sad, blighted land? Look at the two institutions that comprised that conference at the Court of Appeal. These are the two most important pillars of society along with the Legislature.
Overcrowding in the country’s jails was a known fact decades ago. Unimaginable backlog in the judicial system is a profane denial of democracy. There are thousands and thousands of civil cases that are on the shelves of the High Court for decades now. The list inevitably includes litigation involving property dispute, land ownership, wrongful imprisonment, wrongful dismissal, compensation for damage, insurance matters, hospital negligence etc.
What a mess this country is; what a mess it is in. With a population of fewer than 800,000, civil matters in the High Court and Commercial Court are incomplete after ten to fifteen years of filing.
“Obamacare” was signed into law on March 2010. Since then there have been several writs filed against it that went right up to the Supreme Court. The final case against Obamacare in the Supreme Court was completed on January 16, 2016. That marked the end of attempts to make Obamacare illegal. The US is a country with over 300 million citizens. Yet in tiny populated Guyana, civil matters are languishing in the High Court for over ten years. This is not only a denial of rights and justice, but brings into focus whether Guyana is not a failed state.
So we have a huge, confidential meeting of minds in the Judiciary and the Executive to solve the abomination of overcrowded prisons. If we eliminate such a social scorn what next is our target? Does the Georgetown Hospital work? And if it does not, do the big wigs in the Executive have the will to effect decent changes? The answer is no. The overcrowding of prisons will not stop. All of this is because there is no transformative leadership in Guyana. From President Granger right down, there is no boldness to confront the dangers that are devouring this country.
Give Jack his jacket; President Granger tried in the sphere of justice. He committed himself to annual pardoning of convicts for minor offences. It is an admirable policy for which society should offer support. But some magistrates will ignore President Granger. Within the last ten days, a young accused has been jailed for theft of a cell phone and a teenager remanded for robbery involving 1000 Guyanese dollars.
Which political and civic leader in this country will follow the pattern in Jamaica and Brazil and question the competence in medical training that Cuba offers. We bad-mouth UG graduates, but in medicine in Cuba, the training is far below international standards. This column says with deep honesty that he is appalled at the incompetence of many Cuban-trained doctors at the Georgetown Hospital. I think people die at that institution because of that incompetence.
I will have much more to say about the farce of celebrating fifty years of Independence, but the vividness of that uselessness was underscored by the fact that the worst prison protest in the history of the English-speaking Caribbean took place just two months before we celebrate the 50th year of Independence. It was as if fate was trying to show Guyana that in those fifty years it hasn’t anything to show for it. Maybe it was fate’s way of asking Guyanese what is there to celebrate.
One thing I know for sure, the 300 million dollars that will be spent on the celebration isn’t going to stop the monster of blackout from showing his ugly presence on May 26, 2016. Wanna bet?

Latest News

What a mess this country is; what a mess it is in

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| February, 7th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Ken Corsbie – a Guyana Basketball legend passes at 94

Imlach masterclass 126, Alimohamed 66-ball 77,...

Fraser rebounds well, as Arjoon keeps perfect...

Guyana to host historic 3×3 Quest Tournament

Quarter-Finals in Mashramani Street Football...

Vurlon Mills Football Academy launches KFC...

Features/Columnists

Due diligence on investments must become a priority

OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus

Jagdeo on land, Hughes

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

What a mess this country is; what a mess it is in

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| February, 7th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]