One misstep after another

Nov 28, 2016 Editorial

During the last General election, the people came out in droves to support the government after 23 years of PPP oppressive rule.
But after only a year and a half in office, there has been one scandal after the other and the government seems incapable of learning from its mistakes or from those of the last administration.
Not only has the government saddled the taxpayers with the largest cabinet in the history of the country, it also increased the salaries of several ministers by 50 percent.
Shortly thereafter, the government has offered public servants a 10 percent increase in salary. Some are beginning to pity the government for its lack of sensitivity to the people. Its credibility is being eroded and the people’s trust and confidence in the government are diminishing. It seems that the government is paving the way for the return of the PPP to office.
The behavior of some cabinet members makes it appear that they are obsessed with power.
Despite acts of misconduct by some in the government, no one has been disciplined. And there has been no explanation given to people on the controversial trip to China and the intervention into the affairs of the GRA on behalf of a company by a public official, despite a promise by the government to do so.
And it seems that the drug bond scandal is not going away. The Minister of Public Health has been summoned to appear in front of the Privileges Committee in Parliament for misleading the House about the rental of a pharmaceutical bond from a businessman.
As reported, he misinformed the House and the nation in August when he justified the government’s sole sourcing a contract to Linden Holdings Company to rent the Sussex Street bond to store drugs.
He also told the House that the bond met the standards established by both the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization and that medical supplies were already stored in it.
Then out of nowhere came the D’Urban Park Fiasco which erupted into one of the most caustic debates in Parliament between the Government and the opposition. The government has always claimed that it is accountable and transparent, but its reluctance to disclose to Parliament the names of the donors, the amount of money collected for the project and the amount owed and to whom proved otherwise. It seems that the government is taking the people for granted.
The government needs to be reminded that despite the massive corruption, high crime rate and gross incompetence by the PPP administration, it lost the election by only 4,506 votes.
The government should also be reminded that less than a year later, it took a shellacking in the local government elections, yet it continued to be arrogant and neglectful of its supporters, including those in the Diaspora.
And there is more. Lear Goring, a former manager at Guyana Water Inc. was fired on the spot for not disclosing that he was a convicted felon and was deported from the United States.
But Guyana’s Ambassador to Kuwait did not disclose to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that he was convicted for fraud and was fined $10,000 by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. However, he was not fired. The elites seem to be above the laws of the country.

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