A perception of the road Guyana is travelling

Apr 30, 2018 Letters

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Dear Editor,
My regards, you have not printed my previous letters. At least if you do not print this one, heed the warnings of a country heading for a dictatorship and economic chaos very similar to your neighbour Venezuela. The following are points to support these statements.
1. 90% appointments of Permanent Secretaries are of one ethnic background. This is blatant racialism given the fact that the other majority ethnicity has equal or more qualified personnel. This is also true for Ministerial and other low-level government positions. This creates an inherent resentment from the victims of this discrimination.
2. The appointments of retired military personnel to all key electoral and judicial positions, COI’S related to the upcoming elections and other sensitive matters. At best, it looks foolish, scary, and a public relations disaster, since it only re-enforces the truth of the Governing party been a rigging machine and corrupt. At worse, it confirms and supports the fears of the opposition and its supporters that the future elections will be won by any means necessary.
3. The recent tabling of free speech restrictions in cyber social media. This proposed legislation has broad and scoping powers to potentially land anyone in jail including the press. As an owner of a newspaper, you should be most vocal along with the press association. This is what needs protesting more that than parking meters, because without free speech, silly protesting of parking meters and such, will never see the light of day.
4. The handling of the economy – This is disaster complete with smoke and mirrors and three card trickery which would make David Copperfield wince, it’s so obviously blatantly foolish, incompetent and a catastrophe for the future. The balance sheet of the central bank and the exchange rate is proof enough. I need say no more if we can even believe these numbers because they may be fudged. There is no independent governing authority worth its weight that can verify the numbers.
5. In the month of March, specifically the day Pegasus hotel held its groundbreaking ceremony, I was at the Marriott for an unrelated meeting. To my surprise, disappointment, and a feeling of rage the Government had held a business summit for people of African descent only, the Business Minister was present. I inquired of one of the attendees if I could be a part. She smiled and said only if I jerry curl my hair. Now if this is not Government sponsored racism to benefit one sector of the country, then please show me how it is not? Is this promoting racial equality as the Government is famous for touting?
6. The oil Contract – I am not going into the details as you are very knowledgeable, my observations are as follows.
A. I predicted this outcome in one of my previous letters, which you did not publish a plus year ago. Jewish lawyers are not to be trifled with; they will eat you alive on a negotiation table. We sent morons to make a deal for us and got exactly the results expected of such idiots. Why cry now?
B. The Natural Resources Minister, Minister of Finance, Business Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister, and probably the President of Guyana should be held directly responsible for this catastrophe of a contract.
This contract must be renegotiated. If a corrupt organization such as the IMF says it bad then you know you are heading for certain disaster. They have never sided with a host country against an American company. Somebody must have grown a bit of morality overnight there.
7. We have a revenue authority that the CEO has his family nice and cushy living in Florida yet he is allowed to make Draconian rules for ordinary Guyanese.
Why do you have to pay duty, excise tax, tax on raw materials, tools and vehicles that grow business?
Why are there taxes on electric vehicles when your whole slogan is a green economy?
Why do you still have to apply for an exemption for solar goods when these are duty-free? Is this not the height of foolishness?
Why are we paying taxes on the freight of goods imported?
Taxes not are meant to kill businesses, can you please let the head of GRA read the memo. He seems to think that the citizens of this country are a cash cow for the good living of the Ministers and Government.
8. Why are Ministers given free electricity, water, telephone etc. when the ordinary people have to pay for these basic necessities? This is a national disgrace and smacks of third world dictatorships of African countries.
9. We have a Minister of Business who thinks that erecting a statue of a woman drinking coconut water, selling plantain chips, sundried tomatoes, jam, and jelly will make this economy boom. This guy has not implemented a single tangible policy that has transferred to economic gains. What a waste of an important position. What makes it worse is the nepotism involved.
I will not touch the Police, crime, roads, electricity, garbage in the city and city hall, water, internet, telephone, medical system, procurement system, sewer system, the justice system, the everyday incompetence of Government officials, etc .etc. That would be an encyclopedia.
I am not a fan of the opposition either. They were a corrupt bunch; they were competent in a few areas. We are well and truly on our way to an apocalypse.
Thank you.
Aryan Ghosh

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