Latest update January 5th, 2025 3:42 AM
Latest News
- Criteria for selection of Chancellor, Chief Justice must be made public-Hughes
- ‘Citizens who wish to enter the political race should not be threatened’ – Nigel Hughes
- Contracts signed for construction of five new water treatment plants –Minister Rodrigues
- New Demerara River Bridge to be completed by August month-end – Public Works Ministry
- Biden notifies US Congress of planned $8bn arms sales to Israel: Reports
My vote is my most valuable possession
Dear Editor,
My vote is my most valuable possession. Everything else that I own is subordinate, subject to, and controlled by my vote, including my own life. That is why I must use it with the utmost objective thoughtfulness. It places all my hopes and dreams for my country into a kind of High Definition clarity where illusion and misplaced expectation do not exist.
I know most of the recent history of Guyana including (but not limited to) the epic friendship, rivalry, struggles and accomplishments of the two champions of where our democracy sits today, Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan, and I know that despite their many flaws, human frailties and ideological eccentricities, Guyana is better off (but only to a certain extent) because of both of them. The evolution of our country since independence is forever linked to those two men.
But Guyana continues to evolve and there now needs to be serious and dedicated stewardship. Ideological orientation will play some role in the rate, direction and quality of our evolution, but integrity, decency and self-respect will determine our destiny and that speaks directly to what has happened to the personality of the nation over the decades since we became independent. Political interference and the serious effects of corruption on the dispassionate and objective operation of every sector of Guyanese life, from the Judiciary to the Public Service (including the Police Force) to the Private Sector, have combined to create a culture where decency, self-respect and integrity, are no longer the pillars that this developing society can rely on to move itself forward, because they have all been trampled upon for so long.
Guyana does not lack academically qualified people to occupy positions in government and I certainly do not question the academic achievements of those in today’s Government or those in previous governments, but there is a notable decline in culture that almost all of them seem to be unable to resist or overcome. I speak of those three pillars of society, decency, self-respect and integrity that give great power to decision-making!
Haven’t you had a situation (or known of one) where the Justice System has failed the average or poor Guyanese citizen because of corruption? Shouldn’t there have been some progress already made in disciplining the perpetrators in the State Assets situation? Electricity today is something that has to be delivered in unbroken supply. It is that simple. But, because of where that ‘hard-to-overcome’ culture has found itself, it seems that it will never be done. If it is your job to ensure that electricity is supplied in a reliable fashion and you can’t do that, then at some point disciplinary action has to be taken, like it should be taken in any other area where there is incompetence or negligence or rule-breaking or whatever it is that prevents the best job from getting done. No-one seems to understand this.
Burnham and Jagan did their part but they left us in a place where someone like Jagdeo could run roughshod over Guyana without resistance from integrity, decency or self-respect from any quarter for too long. Here is where my vote must not be taken for granted. If you want my vote you now have the unenviable task of proving to me that you can move our beloved country, including all of Guyanese Society, forward on integrity, decency and self-respect.
Guyanese nationalist
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
The PPP is in self-destructive mode
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News –The PPPC is not some scrappy garage band trying to book a gig at the Seawall Bandstand.... more
Forget Begging Rich Nations: Caribbean Countries Should Act to Save Themselves
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- It has long been evident that the world’s richest nations, especially those responsible... more
Weekend Cartoon
