Big-ticket projects, empty-pocket people

Apr 19, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – Guyana’s building of big-ticket projects is gathering a full head of steam in what are nothing but frenzied visions of building and more building. This is regardless of the massive costs for these infrastructural projects, and with less than caring recognition from leaders of the woes of many Guyanese. Our poor listen and look on in disbelief at the huge amounts of taxpayers’ dollars that are budgeted for spending on new projects, while they struggle to cope with rising prices, and pay cheques that can only be stretched so far for only some of their daily basics. When those pay cheques are exhausted, they are on their own; how they manage is a mystery.
One of our Good Friday front-page banners gave a glimpse of the circumstances that prevail: “Building stadium, airport should not trump citizens’ welfare -economist reminds govt. of high cost of living, health care, minimum wage issues” (KN April 15). Any one of those circumstances, now the horrible reality of poor, ordinary Guyanese workers and families, would be a killer. High cost of living is tying working class Guyanese into knots, they just don’t know what to do, but survive they somehow do. Global supply chain crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, bad weather, worse politics, and rising oil prices have all come in for their share of blame. To those we must add price-gouging, cruel exploiting, and the usual private sector profiteering as contributory factors to rising prices in Guyana, and the pain of the poorer segment of Guyanese people. The people need meaningful relief, their welfare given the highest priority, especially when all these many billions are being proudly announced about airport and stadium. They may use them from time to time, but they still need to live all the time, every breath taken in and out. They have to eat, pay the bills, and they just can’t.
Health care is a disease by itself, the cost of it, that is. The cost is a source of pain by itself that is felt largely by those who can’t afford the six and seven figure bills placed before them by private institutions. On the other hand, people connected to the PPP/C Government are busy building, or readying to build, more private health care facilities. This is so that they are well-positioned to profit even more off the backs of Guyanese already bent from the weight of expenses that they cannot handle. Meanwhile, leaders in the PPP/C Government are busy.
The President and the Vice President are busy running around and making loud noises about all the projects that they have in mind, and how much money are a part of those visions. Meanwhile also, both the President and Vice President have little to say about what kind of provisions that they have as visions to give poor Guyanese some timely, much-needed aid in their season of savaging struggle. This is what one economist is warning about; what another economist noted when he said that people have to eat. To repeat the unnecessary, the people can’t eat an airport or a stadium, by themselves, possibly beneficial things, but only when done cleanly, correctly. Many Guyanese are crying out for any help that they can get, the problem is that none is coming their way, for such is the manner of the heartless leaders that they put in power.
A proper increase in the minimum wage of Guyanese workers would go a long way to make a difference. The differences would be tangible, as in what they are able to put on the table, how long they can stay in their rented residence, what clothing they place on their children, and how they manage to travel to work. Instead of the PPP/C Government appreciating the pain of the people, and doing something worthwhile for them, they are busy planning on how much to put in the pockets of their cronies and themselves through these big projects about which they thunder. Government leaders have not indicated any interests to increase the minimum wage, which buys next to nothing.
The irony is that Guyana is this revving, racing, enriching economic engine, while poor Guyanese are struggling, hurting, dying on their feet.

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