A pottage of false hopes and unrealistic expectations

Sep 04, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – Politicians in Guyana are very reluctant to accept responsibility when things go wrong or do not turn out as they planned. But accepting political responsibility is a sign of political integrity.

The ethnic cleansing in Wismar in May of 1964, led the then Minister responsible for Internal Security, Janet Jagan, to resign her post. She was not personally responsible for what took place. In fact, she was misled by the security forces. But she accepted political responsibility and resigned her position.

At present, there is a serious crisis in the health sector. A draft report by the Inter-American Development Bank has highlighted the atrocious state and services at three of the country’s main hospitals.

Yet, instead of accepting that there is a problem, we first saw an attempt to deflect blame to the APNU+AFC. But when one of Kaieteur News’ reporters insisted to a Senior Government Operative that the report concerned the present state of the hospital and when the reporter pointed to meetings which were held by the consultants and the date of those meetings, it was conceded eventually that the findings of the report related to the present state of affairs.

It is the responsibility of the authorities to fix those problems and to begin to do so immediately. You do not need a US$60M or US$160M to address issues to mildew. It should have been obvious by now that a 3-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is grossly inadequate for a hospital which serves a catchment of more than 100,000 persons. This is something which should have been obvious and represents a serious indictment of those responsible for this state of affairs.

The first thing that the new Government should have done upon assuming office should have been an assessment of the state of the country’s hospitals and then taken steps to fix those problems.

But fixing the system is one thing. Who is going to accept responsibility for the state of affairs? Instead of holding persons responsible, the people of Guyana are now being asked to shoulder the debt which will have to be incurred to supposedly fix what should have been identified and remedied a long time ago.

Borrowing money is not going to solve those problems. Much of the international loans go towards hiring consultants and specialist, some of whom are favoured friends of the political elite and who enjoy super-salaries. They come and do what they have to do in the name of institutional and capacity building but when they leave the system reverts back to neglect. What is needed is for a permanent solution to the problems but this has to begin with honesty through the acceptance of responsibility.

In Guyana, the people are being sold a pottage of promises, false hopes and unrealistic expectations. They are being told, for example, by Senior Government Officials that Guyana has the fastest growing economy in the world. That may well be so but what does not mean in terms of bread and butter for the average man.

How has this fastest growing economy in the world been making a difference in the lives of citizens? How much has it changed anything in this country? The small man is presently under severe strain because of the cost of living. But our governing Politicians would have you believe that things are not that bad because our economy is the fastest growing in the world.

Well, it is not about how fast the economy is growing, it is about how the returns on that growth are improving the lives of citizens. And at present, people are experiencing a lower standard of living than they were before the pandemic. All is not rosy in Guyana and our politicians must not wake up in their palatial palaces and believe that the average man is enjoying a higher standard of living.

As has been rightly pointed out, the greatest proportion of national GDP growth is taking place in the non-oil sector. A more realistic assessment would be to let the people know just who is enjoying the greater benefit from this growth in the oil sector. Whose plate is bigger? Is it the oil companies or the people?

The Government has to accept responsibility for the state of the country and for the services which it provides to the people. Borrowing money is not going to fix a system that has not worked and will not work. Nor will telling the people that they now live in the fastest growing economy in the world, when all the people are experiencing are increased prices, including rentals.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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