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A Feeling of guilt should never be the basis of an exercise of presidential power
DEAR EDITOR,
Recently, a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) was ordered by the caretaker President Granger for the vehicular collision which occurred on the East Bank of Demerara two (2) weeks ago where five (5) persons were killed, three (3) of whom were members of the Disciplined Services.
Over the last four and a half (4.5) years, over five hundred (500) Guyanese were killed as a result of road accidents and that is a huge loss for us as a nation. The state of Guyana spends and invests many millions of dollars on every single Guyanese life whether directly or indirectly through government spending on education, health, roads, drainage, sea defences, infrastructure, security and a range of other social services. Yet, for four and a half (4.5) years, road accidents and fatalities have been an invisible issue for Granger until this collision when he ordered a CoI. While Granger may feel some degree of personal responsibility because it is reported that that the speeding police car which was involved in the collision was heading to where Granger resides in the village of Pearl on the East Bank to escort him back to Georgetown, a feeling of responsibility or guilt should never be the basis of an exercise of presidential power. If a CoI was ordered, it should have been ordered on all road fatalities with a specific objective of reducing significantly road accidents and fatalities and not just this collision.
In addition, it was also reported that Granger visited the families of the victims following the East Bank Collision. This would have been the first time that it was reported that Granger would have visited the families of the victims of any vehicular accident in the last four and a half (4.5) years. When you hold the post of president, you are responsible for the welfare and well-being of all nationals. Again, while Granger may feel some degree of personal responsibility for the deaths of these five (5) persons, there were over five hundred (500) road fatalities in the last four and half (4.5) years and their grieving families would have never received a visit from Granger. Those victims matter too so a feeling of responsibility or guilt should not be the basis for a presidential visit.
Finally, Granger’s request for a CoI into this vehicular collusion is entirely inconsistent with his previous position when a far more harrowing incident occurred almost four (4) years ago when three (3) persons were killed in a high-speed car chase driven by two soldiers in pursuit of ordinary citizens, one of whom happened to be my wife. The position taken by Granger immediately after the accident was that “it was a legitimate state operation” and “there is no need for a probe”. A high-speed car chase of innocent citizens by un-uniformed soldiers in un-identified vehicles which saw the death of three (3) persons, one of whom was an innocent civilian, deserved at least an investigation let alone a CoI.
Sincerely,
Charles S. Ramson
Attorney at Law
Former Member of Parliament
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