Our elected officials are too callous to care

Jul 31, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
The recent article titled “Over 50 percent of economy was bloated with corrupt earnings” KN July 25, 2016, really struck a nerve. The article in itself, pointed out that things are not as healthy with the economic outlook of Guyana. This is running counter to the many statistics and reports we are receiving from the government ministers in the past few months.
The Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran insinuated that he tends to agree that the “yardstick” being used to measure the economic health of our nation is not a true measure. This, I am wholeheartedly in agreement with. The Chartered Accountant went on to opine that the businesses are feeling a pinch and complaining that all is not well. He further stated ”And the little bit of squeeze we are feeling is because the government is really clamping down on the illegalities in the system. We are going through a corrective period which will lead us to a more legal and healthy economy. And for that, the people on the ground need to be more patient and understanding.”
The opinion which made reference to the “corrective period” only tells half of the real story. Guyana’s real deep-rooted problem lies in our ability (lack of) to produce real industries that are capable of generating real currency to sustain the path the Government has embarked on. Minus the flow of real hard cash inflow into the economy, the government has embarked on this “corrective” path to generate cash.
What is really going on in Guyana right now is the policy of “scraping the bottom of the pot” so to speak, in the hope of raising revenue. I do not disagree with any Government that is “tightening” up all loose ends but not the sustained endeavor of raising taxes, increasing duties and implementing fees on everything possible. A nation cannot survive on the continued taxation of its citizens. This will in the end hurt the very people who helped to place them in the Government. This may lead to a more legal economy (legal by the laws of the time), but it surely won’t be a healthy economy.
The call for the Guyanese people to be patient and understanding is a very noble call. The average person is “blessed” with that trait at all levels. That virtue of patience and understanding is greatly enhanced when the “askee” ( by that I mean someone who is asked something) is able to see that their effort is for a noble cause. How can anyone ask of the Guyanese people to show patience and understanding, when they saw the elected officials help themselves to that big, fat, hefty 50 % pay raise? Lacking any realistic plans, from our elected leaders, that task becomes a very difficult one. It has been a solid year plus since the Coalition came to governing the country and to date, no plan has been rolled out, giving the people an inclination as to the direction the nation is or will be steered into. How can the Guyanese people show that virtue?
After paying the lofty increases in taxes, fees and duties, citizens’ take home pay will shrink. The other side of the coin is the reality that the businesses are also being taxed, and having their share of excessive duties. These costs will be passed on to the consumers. This further shrinks their pockets – their spending ability. As the saying goes, “There is only so much juice one can squeeze from a mango.” Beyond that, all we are left with is DRY HUSK. A husk that is beneficial to no one.
One true measure of a nation’s economic health is the ability of its citizens to spend money. To spend money, one has to earn that money. To earn the money to spend, the system has to be able to meaningfully CREATE employment. Lacking these simple, basic criteria, we are looking at a recipe for economic disaster.
I have written many articles, alluding to the fact that until our elected officials “put on their thinking caps and sharpen their visions,” Guyana is going nowhere – FAST. They have to have the vision to create industries that will earn. These industries will employ our youths who are idly wandering around, and at times creating mischief. The burden that so many families in Guyana are forced to shoulder, will be eased. Our children will not have to wonder where and when their next meal will be available. Dear Editor, this I know for a fact. Too many Guyanese are really struggling, just because our elected officials are too callous to care.
Muhammad Raoof
USA

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