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Real leadership is putting people’s interest before our own
DEAR EDITOR,
I recently watched the debate in Parliament with Hon. Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence debating about members of the PPP’s exorbitant medical bills that’s taxpayers’ money. I learnt recently that our President Granger is not in Guyana but is in Cuba on medical checkups and prior to that in Trinidad.
I have nothing against the President or his cabinet Ministers. But I am a bit concerned as to why none of our Ministers want to use the GPHC or Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital or the Woodlands Hospital. Most of our Ministers are running to top class hospitals abroad at the expense of taxpayers’.
Here is an interesting scenario: a lady lost her baby recently at the GPHC while the doctor was on his phone chatting; I saw it on the news, but that story is buried already from the media. Many of our poor citizens are dying at the hands of trainee doctors from Cuba and nurses who barely passed or failed their exams.
The past and present administrations created hospitals they will never enter nor will their families, but we must go there to die. Not long ago one of our female Pastors lost her husband at the GPHC from a heart blockage. That man could have lived if the Ministry of Public Health could have sent him abroad the same way our Prime Minister went to treat his heart to live .
Just a few months ago we saw another young athlete die at the GPHC from Rose Hall Town. If this government or the Ministry of Health was concerned, they would have taken that athlete abroad for treatment. That teenager would have lived, but they are only concerned about themselves.
There is no real concern or love for our people. I am seeing often our citizens are begging for money to go and take an operation abroad while this government just watches rather than fly the sick abroad to save their lives.
Our erudite and eloquent Minister of State said that our Cabinet Ministers can afford to go as far as Ireland for medical treatment because they have the ”load” to pay. May I ask now why the Finance Minster cannot put aside one billion Guyana dollars in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health as emergency funds to help our sick citizens pay medical bills abroad? How long will our people beg on National Television to live?
They have money for insignificant things like Mashramani and Carifesta money to build arches and imprudent celebrations, but we cannot build modern hospitals with better health care. The private hospitals here will see you die if you don’t have millions.
Now that billions will come from the oil money, I will be happy to write this government – or the New Government that will come to power in the near future – a proposal, Pro Bono, of a new vision plan for Guyana. Guyana needs a current contemporary vision to take us into a position where leaders put people before themselves and don’t rule for their own personal ambition, just to get rich quick by filling their pockets.
I remembered two profound quotations from George Orwell’s book Animal Farm:
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.”
These elegant truths from Orwell’s magnificent book fit our political scenario here in Guyana. Our leaders crave political power and recognition, but could not care less for the citizens of this nation. That’s what Orwell meant when he said ‘’but some animals are more equal than others’’ – depicting man with a greedy and unscrupulous mentality.
Real leadership is putting people’s interest at heart before our own. As I contemplate to vote next week, I haven’t seen an honest eligible candidate to vote for; the mendacious politics of this nation has corrupted the psyche of our people. Guyana needs young energetic leaders with a new vision to obliterate archaic political ideologies.
Regards,
Rev. Gideon Cecil
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