It’s always about the money

Aug 27, 2020 Editorial

Yes, there is that opening line from the song by the O’Jays (“For the love of money”) with the sweet cash refrain. But we speak not of a line from a hit record in 1973, but of what has happened here recently, and how much taxpayers’ dollars governments waste. There is plenty moolah floating around, with little of it ever reaching the empty hands and stomachs of poor struggling Guyanese citizens.
From what was carried by us in this paper on Sunday last, we extract randomly three instances of heavy money being spent by the former government, with little to show for its efforts, and almost zero benefits to strapped and struggling taxpayers. Hapless and hurting Guyanese citizens, especially those on the lower ends of the economic ladder, are on their own, while mismanagement and misplaced priorities lead the way. Citizens need any helping hand they can get, and desperately so. But, up to this point, their waiting has been in vain, nothing forthcoming.
The first of the three captions “APNU+AFC spends over $92 million on Law Reform Commission…no work done” begins the revelations of time wastage, mismanagement, and generalized sloth in delivering on commitments and projects. A building was rented in 2017, some staff hired, and that was about it. Three years later, it might as well be a shell. It is scant comfort that the former Attorney General, Basil Williams, noted that “the Commission is in its final stages of readiness.” That may have been acceptable in 2018 (one year after the rental began), but not in 2020. What a waste! The former AG has defended spiritedly, but nobody is listening.
As if that was not bad enough, the second article we present today from Sunday was titled, “Coalition used close to $50M tax dollars to pay for elections, other court cases.” This reinforces what was the highest priority of the departed coalition government. It is a tale – repeated in one case after another – of connected lawyers hitting the big time on the taxpayers’ dime. All the legal luminaries recruited, domestic and foreign, came in for millions from the treasury, when that should have come from the party’s coffers. Like the Law Reform Commission, the ‘fat cats’ drank milk laced with honey, while poor Guyanese, including impoverished sugar workers and countless coalition supporters, stared at their hungry families and looked at empty pots. The lawyers made a financial killing, while vulnerable citizens took a severe and prolonged battering. This is a snapshot of what is so angering about the way that the coalition went about the business of the peoples of this society.
The last example involving big spending by the former government came to light under the KN article headlined, “$15M boat bought by Region Six two years ago never used.” This story continued the litany of some of the things that went wrong, and which are now taking on new significance, when grouped with the other failures, some of which are still unknown. A boat and engine were obtained for that $15M, only for the regional authorities to discover that “the 150hp engine bought was not compatible with the boat.” Who were these people at the helm? If the engine was “not compatible” then it was imperative that some remedial action be taken, such as a substitute engine found, instead of “it being left down” and nothing else done. Once again, we must ask: who were these leaders? With stewards like these, how can this society get anywhere, but the same draining old places? It appears that the mentality throughout government was spend the money, take care of own, and to hell with the rest.
Well, in the private realm, a financial hell is what quite a few are staring at currently, as was noted in many sections of the media. It is coming to light that as much as US$20M may have been invested in that Ponzi scheme making the rounds. That is a lot of money, over four billion in Guyana dollars. Whether public or private monies are being spent, what is emphasized are the wastages and wreckages wreaked. Meanwhile, the little forgotten people wonder how they will make it to the next day.

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