ALL IS NOT WELL AFTER 50 YEARS

May 26, 2016 Editorial, Features / Columnists

While Guyanese at home and in the diaspora are celebrating the country’s 50th independence anniversary, they must stay focused on the fundamental issues facing the country and not be side-tracked by the superficial glamour and pageantry. The primary issue that should concern them is that the current economic indicators suggest that the model on which the country’s post-Independence economy was built has now failed.

The country has been mired in an economic dilemma for some time, and it has become absolutely clear that the old economic system no longer works. But strangely enough, the administration believes that all is well and that the economy is on the right track to achieve sustainable growth. However, we have witnessed no fresh ideas of how to rescue the country from its economic dilemma or how to improve the lives of the underprivileged.
The economy and the plight of the poor have been the major areas of concern in recent times, but the focus of those in authority has been squarely on the jubilee celebrations. From the very beginning of independence, the late Forbes Burnham dedicated himself to the development of the economy and to make the small man a real man. He had established a widely accepted social philosophy to achieve that goal and to strengthen the nation and give it a core fundamental social structure and identity. The jewel of this manifestation was free university education.
For some, free university education was a sound policy, and it was assumed that the lives of many would improve, only to realize that free education became dispensable under the PPP. The truth is, the governments of the post-independence era did not do enough to transform the old plantation economy into a modern one, to meet the needs and aspirations of an independent nation.
While the attainment of independence is a great achievement, it did not undo much of the colonial habits. Rather, they have made Guyana into a post-colonial society in which colonialism continues to shape the country’s image and affairs, and are responsible for many of its problems. For Guyana to develop, its leaders will have to unyoke the chains of colonialism in many institutions and end the divisive two-party political system of governance bequeathed to the nation by Britain.
It has not yet occurred to the political leaders that all they have done is to accept and fulfill what was designed for the nation by the colonizers. The country is still essentially trapped in the colonial-type economy and much of the fundamental colonial resource structures are still in place. The argument can be made, whichever way one sees it, that Guyana remains a classic colony, in that it imports food and other primary products, and the leaders did very little to build a sound manufacturing and industrial base.
How can Guyana with such huge, fertile land mass import food? The answer lies in the post-independence governments which have not truly unlocked the talent and potential of the people, embraced the concept of economic and human development and trusted their people, not foreigners. They have not moved the country forward or committed to use its natural resources towards its development. Instead, it was a platform for many to accumulate personal wealth.
And there still exists the anti-worker colonial mindset that continues to permit jaundiced sentiments and attitudes against the working class and their ability to make decisions and be involved in governance.
The deficiencies in the health and education structures have not been corrected. Infant mortality continues and the content of the colonial school curriculum is failing thousands of students. These are the some of the issues that the people should keep in mind as they observe the nation’s 50th independence anniversary. It is time to build a new and better post-independent society in the 21st century, because it is clear that all is not well after 50 years of independence.

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ALL IS NOT WELL AFTER 50 YEARS

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