We need to review our perspective on Wealth Creation and Wealth Generation

Jul 16, 2019 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

Too many of our leaders are forgetting that they are leaders because they have followers, and that some of these followers are young and impressionable.
I am constantly engaging young people on their views on the political, economic, social, and on Guyana as a whole; and where they see themselves in the current Guyana and the ‘New Guyana’.
My most recent conversation was frank, raw and very interesting. A group of young people asked me if they should still say the ‘National Pledge’ or another pledge which they made up. The National Pledge says, ‘I pledge myself to honour always the flag of Guyana; and to be loyal to my country, to be obedient to the laws of Guyana, to love my fellow citizens and to dedicate my energies towards the happiness and prosperity of Guyana’.
They indicated that based on the revelations in the press about our leaders and senior public servants, the new pledge is probably, ‘I pledge myself to dishonour the flag of Guyana, to be disobedient to the laws of Guyana, to rob and hate my fellow citizens, and to dedicate my energies towards the sadness and disintegration of Guyana’. They have also asked if the public service has now become the ‘public disservice’.
Essentially, I think many of our leaders, past and present, and senior public servants and officials, have failed our young people and have not been good role models. This brings me to the point of our perception of wealth creation and wealth generation. I believe that the fact that corruption and crime has been so rampant in public offices and the society as a whole, we need to urgently review our perceptions on wealth creation and wealth generation.
As I read stories in the press about all of these public officials and leaders who are engaging in corrupt practices, I don’t think that these persons and many citizens, really understand that our country is about to become one of the richest countries in the hemisphere and in the world. This is not like a one- or two-year event where people have to scramble to pocket as much as they can before it is finished; this is going to be the development and economic pathway for Guyana for a number of years; and I think that is what we need to mobilise our citizens around. We need to mobilise them around how they can position and educate themselves.
Too many of our young men are selling water and accessories in the streets. Yes, they are making an honest dollar, but we should want our young men and young people to get more meaning out of work and life. They should be registering and pursuing training at institutions such as the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC), we probably need more GITCs. These young men are in the prime of their lives, they should be more involved in nation-building activities. Where are the civic education and national policy programmes to orient and mobilise the nation around the ‘New Guyana’ – the Oil and Gas Guyana?
Our country is about to become one of the richest countries in the world and our young people are not seeing and understanding their roles and responsibilities as well as the possibilities for them. How can they position themselves? How do we position them? What kind of example are our leaders setting for our young people? How are we mobilizing them around the ‘New Guyana’? How are we motivating them to be honest and decent citizens or leaders with integrity? What are the messages they are getting?
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs focuses on five key areas; at the lowest level is ‘Physiological Needs’ or the survival stage. These include: air, water, food, shelter, sleep, clothing and reproduction. The level above that is: ‘Safety Needs’. This includes; personal security, employment, resources, health and property.
The third level is; ‘Love and Belonging’. This includes: friendship, intimacy, family and sense of connection. The fourth level is; ‘Esteem’. This includes: respect, self-esteem, status, recognition, strength and freedom. The fifth level is; ‘Self-actualization’. This is the desire to become the most that one can be.
As one examines corrupt practices and the pervasiveness of it among government officials and senior public servants, one gets the impression that many persons, even at the level of Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, heads of agencies, managing directors, Chief Executive Offices and heads of departments; are still operating as though they are at the lowest level of Maslow Hierarchy of Needs; this is at the mere survival level.
This is unfortunate because at the level of Minister, Permanent Secretary, head of agency, managing director, Chief Executive Officer, head of department; this is where these persons are supposed to be demonstrating self-actualization.
In these positions, these leaders and officials are supposed to demonstrate self-actualization. Show our young people that these positions are desirable and that their quality of life can be satisfactory. Instead, they are giving our young people the impression that even at these levels, life is a hustle. One permanent secretary, I heard, used to sell back the credit from their cellphone.
Another point, with such high levels of corruption among our leaders and public officials, one wonders what is their ambition as it relates to their professional growth and mobility? Are they not interested in or aspiring to take this breadth and depth of experience, to regional and international organizations? This is the example they should be showing our young people.
Finally, our leaders and public officials break the laws and rules with such impunity; I wonder, if they really value their freedom. Are they happy to go to jail or to be dragged before the courts? Or are they above the law? Is this the best example for our young people?
Yours faithfully,
Citizen Audreyanna Thomas

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