The Story within the Story… We have no respect for the laws or public service

Feb 04, 2018 News

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By Leonard Gildarie

I was heading to work on Friday along the East Bank Demerara when in the Providence area, in front of the Princess Casino, the traffic started to slow down. The reason became clear shortly after. A minibus, I presumed filled with passengers, was on its side on the median that divides the east and west carriageways.
It was immediately apparent that speeding was a factor. It was evident too that the concrete base of the light post had stopped the bus from travelling further onto the other side of the road, thus preventing a potential tragedy involving oncoming traffic.
I am not sure if I am the only one, but not a month goes by without me expressing frustration about the traffic situation, especially on the East Bank. What is even more frustrating is the thinking of the authorities on how to correct the situation.
We do not need only large traffic control points every night at 10 pm at Houston, or at the Conversation Tree intersection, along the Railway Embankment Line, on the East Coast of Demerara. These are for crime purposes.
However, there are daily transgressions which have been causing accidents and deaths and nobody seems to be taking action.
Undertaking, overtaking, sudden pullouts, no indicator lights, a threatening middle finger…there is little we can say. Stand up in front of Kaieteur News around 4pm on weekdays and you will see what I am talking about.
It appears too that the passengers are not too unhappy with the situation, because the daily lawlessness continues. We have to speak out.
Adam Harris’ vehicle was recently involved in an accident…the doors were damaged badly and because it is a new model SUV, the local agents said the two doors will have to be replaced. Fortunately for Adam, the driver of the other vehicle agreed to replace the doors. The bill in total is close to a million dollars.
The point is that many of us who drive cannot afford comprehensive insurance, and the third party policy only gives you so much for repairs. I have said it before and will say it again, we need to modernize our insurance system to cater for what is happening in reality.
As it is now, we are forced by law to take out insurance that does little for us. Where are the consumer bodies?
Minibus operators will tell you blankly that they have a target to meet daily and that it is tough competition out there.
It means that all Guyana is essentially being held at ransom by a few people who apparently have more rights than the rest of the population?
We want to develop Guyana into a tourism destination. Guess what…we can’t even stop to allow people to cross on the pedestrian markings.
LAWBREAKERS
There seems to be a growing, collaborative effort to just not toe the line. And the reasons for that are simple. The people who should be leading by example are the ones who are breaking the law.
I recalled in 1997, and a few persons will try to defend it, when former President, Janet Jagan, infamously threw a court order over her shoulders. The order was to stop the swearing in of the new president. There will be arguments back and forth on this. The fact is that we should obey the laws.
Daily we see what is happening at the courts and the conclusions are clear – there appears to be a different yardstick for the rich and for the poor. I say nothing more on this.
That tossing of the court order has seen quite a number of other incidents. The courts have been giving instructions, but little respect is being shown for them.
Every so often, we would hear of difficulties of police not being able to apprehend a suspect, but he is living right under their noses.
In recent years, the courts have been handing down judgments, and while one can argue that there is legal recourse to appeal those, it is the impression that the authority of the courts are nothing much to talk about.
A few recent cases involving at least three financial institutions should raise some worrying eyebrows.
Our culture has to change when it comes to respecting the laws, whether it is driving on the roadways or fearing the hand of the judiciary.
GPHC AGAIN?
There is one more thing that raised my ire last week and I have not see a response as yet from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
A UK-based Guyana-born physician, Dr. Mark Devonish, wrote a Letter to the Editor. It was published in Kaieteur News.
The doctor was complaining bitterly about the heartless treatment meted out to his dying brother.
See link (https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2018/01/31/our-unsatisfactory-and-upsetting-experiences-at-gphc/)

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