MID-TERM REPORT NEEDED

Oct 20, 2018 Editorial

The Granger-led coalition government has been in office for more than 1200 days which means that it is in the second half of its five-year mandate, but the President has not given a progress report, or the lack thereof, on the current state of affairs of the nation. There has been no report on attempts to stimulate the economy, reduce crime and corruption or how to improve the education and health care systems or on production and housing. The government has not fulfilled its promise to be transparent and accountable to the people.
The people depend on the government for information about the future direction of the country – on what is going well and what is not. But they do not have a clue. The people have been bombarded with daily news reports about the exploration of oil and the indiscretions by ExxonMobil in many other countries. It is important for the government to apprise the nation of its strategies/plans.
At independence, Guyana was considered the bread basket of the Caribbean and the most likely country to develop ahead of other CARICOM states. We slept with our doors unlocked; crime, violence and corruption were not as rampant during that period as they are today. History has shown that they became widespread during the constructional framework of nation building in the early 1970s. They were injected into the nation by the rapid increase in political tribalism, racial politics and injustice. What is even worse, crime has stalked the land and has forced us to live behind barred doors and windows in order to protect ourselves. Wearing expensive jewellery, especially gold, in public, has become very dangerous today. These issues have severely altered the social landscape of the country and have multiplied the social problems.
Also at independence, the rice, sugar and bauxite industries were booming, production was at its highest level and the people were optimistic about the future. Today, production has dropped, the economy is ailing, the sugar industry has collapsed, bauxite production is low and the rice industry is not as it once was. There are other perceived problems in society such as inadequate public health care and a poor education system. The latter is evident in the public schools located in the poor areas of the country, many of which lack resources and are underperforming and failing our children. These may be foundation issues, but they are created by our own actions or inactions.
The President ought to know that information is knowledge and that the country will not develop if the people are not informed of the government plans to develop it. In his three press conferences since assuming office, he highlighted two or three objectives that his government is determined to achieve within its current five-year term – namely, to eliminate extreme poverty and reduce inequality.
With less than two years of his term remaining, the president touted his programme that provided transportation to help children to get to school as being at the core of his vision of ending poverty. While his efforts are worthy of praise, they are not enough to eliminate poverty in the country.
After three years in office, his government has not established or communicated to the nation a comprehensive strategy to end poverty in the country. The government may have plans to reduce poverty and develop the country, but it has not submitted a comprehensive mid-term report to the people. One is definitely needed.

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