President Ali on Al Jazeera

Jan 03, 2023 Editorial

Kaieteur News – We would like to agree with His Excellency, President Ali, but we cannot (“Oil revenue benefiting all Guyanese -President Ali tell Al Jazeera Journalist” -KN January 01). What this nation’s head-of-state said has its merits, but then again only to a degree. Though we have detected that the President gets uncomfortable and hostile when there is disagreement with everything he says, we will risk his wrath by quietly pointing out what is substance, and what is simply skin-deep only. In other words, what supports his narrative versus what subtracts from it. We use some of the President’s own words, as extracted from the Al Jazeera interview.

First, “…when you are able to give your citizens the best possible healthcare…”. We agree with the President that there is healthcare, but whether any reasonable person terming what Guyanese have as the best that is possible, they will be guilty of gross exaggeration. One wonders what that Al Jazeera interviewer would make of Guyana’s public health system were he to observe firsthand its operations, capabilities, and output. Hundreds of millions of American dollars are budgeted annually, but without the corresponding benefits being experienced by locals. What President Ali was bold enough to call “best possible healthcare” still has too many Guyanese having to buy some medicines out of pocket, and accept substandard services, which was revealed by an IDB review. While some areas in our public healthcare system are better than before, there are still too many facilities and too many areas of care that function with deficiencies that just should not be, given the amount of money spent to enhance.

Second, “when you are able to announce measures that is giving every single citizen who require dialysis a cheque every year to help them with that dialysis…”This is a recent development coming out of the Ali Government and one that is commendable. It is most helpful to dialysis patients, who cannot afford the steep cost associated with dialysis treatment. We could say that such patients are a small subset of Guyana’s population, but will allow the President to cherish this moment of truth and joy.

Third, the President is accurate in highlighting the children and the transportation and uniform grants that were extended by government to each one of them. This, too, has helped to provide some relief to the crushing burdens being borne by parents across Guyana, especially those at the lower end of the economic ladder. Fourth, the President identified “increase old age pension” which is factual on the face of it. But this amounts to a measly GY$3,000 (US$15) per month. Even when consideration is given to the one-off cash grant to pensioners of $28,000, it is embarrassing for any President to include this in his delivery. We remind President Ali that he is the leader over one of the fastest growing economies (if not the fastest per capita) in the world, and increases should be multiples of the insult that his government delivered to pensioners. This country can do better, but the PPPC Government has not, and it knows why.

Fifth, “when you are able to build roads all over the country…”, now the President is on familiar territory, and he is swinging for the roofs. The PPPC Government has splurged billions on infrastructure, which enriches the cronies of the ruling party, hangs increasing debt on Guyanese, and takes away from what could be available for those in need of sustained assistance. Guyanese don’t have much confidence in the tender system, and are concerned about kickbacks, graft, and rampant corruption with multibillion dollar infrastructure projects. There is a huge imbalance in the billions for infrastructure (roads etc) versus the human relief handouts (uniform, pension, transportation) of which the President spoke so proudly. Citizens cannot eat infrastructure.

President Ali brushed aside the World Bank’s 48% poverty figure he dismissed “self-appointed professors”, and was overjoyed over house lots, scholarships, and coders, all in the tens of thousands. Al Jazeera should come to Guyana, and probe behind the happy picture that His Excellency presented. We wonder what the reaction(s) would be, especially if they go undercover, behind the numbers, and behind the President’s rhetoric, in this oil rich nation.

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