Guyanese encouraged to return to the core values of Dr. Cheddi Jagan

Jul 29, 2022 Letters

---

Dear Editor,

As Guyana continues to be mired in disagreements spanning a number of crucial economic issues, I have been thinking to myself that we need to hit the reset button, to return to the core values about ourselves as a people, this being the basis for our push for our Independence from Britain in 1966.  More particularly, all Guyanese, but especially the People’s Progressive Party, are encouraged to reflect, to return to the original set of values and purpose upon which Dr. Cheddi Jagan, along with his wife and Ashton Chase, established the People’s Progressive Party in January 1950. Many Guyanese may be surprised that Forbes Burnham himself was also a PPP founding member, being registered as the party’s chairman at the time.  Sydney King also shared Dr. Jagan’s vision, as a valiant soldier within the PPP at the time.  African Guyanese would be surprised at the nobility of purpose upon which our country was birthed.  The values and vision of the PPP at the time reflected the true character of Dr. Jagan himself, who remained committed to equality, equity, fairness and development for all Guyanese regardless of race, ‘class’ or religion.

For me, these values of equality, equity and fairness were godly, innocent, reflecting a caring love and concern for all Guyanese without prejudice.  This said, I also reflected that it is an unfortunate reality that Guyanese in general are unfamiliar that Dr. Jagan as the man who should be truly regarded as the Father of our nation, that this deficiency is something which could be addressed at the national level by incorporating this and the important episodes of our pre-independence history which unite us as a people into our education system between the Grades 7-9 levels.  The PPP, Dr. Jagan, have almost suffered a stolen heritage.

The PPP’s own return to the vision and values of Dr. Jagan would be transformative since there would be a return to the concept of equity in development and delivery of government services to all Guyanese. Especially also, it would be crucial in reshaping public opinion about the People’s Progressive Party as a truly national party.

A critical area in national development for example is ensuring that public servants, be they workers across the various ministries, nurses, teachers who create leaders of tomorrow or the joint services, receive incomes which allow them to lead normal lives where they can provide adequately for themselves, their children, their parents and other extended family without having to work at second jobs. This is in addition to owning their own homes and acquiring all the amenities that come with living in this modern world.  This is crucial as a basic principle of society, that the incomes of public servants be a standard for valuing compensation within society.

Reflecting on real world outcomes, there have been long running disputes between government and the respective union representatives of the various categories of public servants, to the point where for the longest while government-imposed salary increases have been the norm.  In the circumstances, it is quite obvious that public servants have been underpaid for the duration of the time government-imposed wage increases have been applied.

The concern has always been that government doesn’t have enough money, among any other number of common excuses. It should be recalled here that government’s so-called inadequacies in times past have been purely a result of economic mismanagement on a scale which reduced Guyana as a nation to beggar status globally. The claim about inadequate resources is now laid to rest with the inflow of wealth from the sale of our national oil resources.

It is important that we sidestep the blame game of under which administration mismanagement occurred, or which administration was worse, that we instead sincerely commit to Dr. Jagan’s values of equality and fairness for all. With this as our guide, given the extent of dispute between the unions and government over acceptable salaries, the administration is encouraged to take the initiative and sit with unions to resolve this issue as a matter of priority.  It is further recommended that given that it is unlikely that disagreements over salaries will continue, that the administration invite the unions to nominate persons to an arbitration panel tasked with commissioning an independent study to examine the issue of salaries so that an impartial recommendation can be made which will reflect the welfare concerns of public servants.

This arbitration panel would also be tasked with making recommendations for payments of salaries covering the period of years over which public servants were underpaid, this most probably being the year in which administration initiated its independent imposition of salary increases for public servants.  Other governance issues which could be addressed expeditiously on this subject is that salary increases agreed to, be subsequently paid upon agreement with respective unions versus waiting until year’s end.

It goes without saying that this is a must, much-needed reallocation of our national resources to compensate public servants as a means of addressing the many deficiencies notably prevalent across nearly all areas of public service.  Without question, resources can be prioritised from within the current budget framework and funds available from revenues from our oil, a virtual blank cheque for poverty elimination and the promotion of welfare growth across all segments of the population.  Incomes of public servants should be addressed as a matter of national priority, not to mention our under-represented pensioners who have given their lives in our service, alongside the push to stimulate investment and growth in the other economic sectors.

Yours faithfully,
Craig Sylvester

---

---