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Money, machinery, and management
Dear Editor,
Many of us have posed this conundrum earlier but it needs being repeated, even at the risk of being considered tedious. In Guyana today with arrogant and bombastic language some members of our ruling elite declare that they were elected by the people and therefore do as they please. I will deal with this corrosive attitude a little later.
For now, I refer to recent power outages many of us experienced on Thursday 29th January, and similar experiences for much of the year. Our government has an abundance of money, much more than any previous, pre and post Independence administration had to spend. Yet, on Thursday morning where I live, and from a survey, many other areas had to deal with the inconvenience of a “blackout” in excess of three hours, followed by the usual facile explanation from the “top brass” of GPL, treating citizens as though we are all non compos mentis or as the boys would say where I grew up in the south, treating us as a bunch of idiots.
To maintain a reliable supply of electricity one requires the traditional three M’s money, machinery, and management. Since we are not short of money, we should not be short of machinery, what with the millions expended daily on Turkish ships, the only deficiency therefore must be management. This, fellow Guyanese is the burden we carry, an unnecessary burden, as is the case with the state-controlled sugar industry. We can not get the current administration to recognise that all that is necessary, is to put an end to this nonsensical, unpatriotic practice of putting square pegs in round holes, to manage important areas, while paying them super-salaries.
By now, post 2020, the spending spree should have satisfied them, the minority, and therefore given the majority of us an opportunity to enjoy the bounty from oil, gas, gold, bauxite, diamonds, good agricultural land, food sufficiency thanks to earlier policies of produce or perish by Burnham. We are blessed with favourable weather throughout the year, unlike friends of ours who are now facing severe winters elsewhere. Give the rest of us a chance to benefit from our boast and a truism that we are the fastest growing economy in the world. A country that is a part of a beautiful, peaceful Caribbean.
Above and beyond let us just not talk about transparency, let us just not declare war on corruption, let us do it and embrace a call made nearly four decades ago for a moral and spiritual revival. That is the only answer that can translate into benefits for all of the people in this region.
Today we have the money, let us use it to produce a generation that knows its history, and can advance as a people proud to be who we are. One of several initiatives is, to ensure that in every educational institution the ungarnished truth about our past, is passed on to our children. The system must teach us to love who we are irrespective of race, colour, or creed. It is difficult to love others, unless we first learn to love and appreciate who we are. Another important road to follow is to ensure all schools have a music, arts, and sports department. This alone will insulate our youth from the evils and harm of drink, tobacco, illegal drugs, and the influence of self-serving propaganda. Because their time and creative energies will be consumed with helpful, nation-building activities. Believe it or not we have the money but we need leadership on all sides of our political divide with a vision and a passion for oneness.
Years ago, we posed the rhetorical question; can we do it? From president to peasant, from the disadvantaged and poor, to the privileged and elite, said; Yes, we can!
Sincerely,
Elder Hamilton Green
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