Dear Editor,
In my four score years plus as a Guyanese I never saw a budget for Guyana and the Guyanese people which was as harsh as the one presented to us for the year 2009. There is nothing in it for retired workers.
There is nothing in it for teachers, nurses, public servants and workers in other industries. In short, there is nothing in it for the people who work tirelessly day and night to bring in billions of dollars in revenue to government coffers to keep the economy moving forward with growth to the country.
With no increase in salary for the workers and with the decrease in their spending power through the introduction of the 16% VAT, they are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table. With no increase in salary, the honest working man or woman will never be able to put aside some money to buy a car or take their family to school or to work.
They will never be able to buy a house to put a roof over their heads. In the budget the government is saying to the workers, “You should all ride pedal cycles or use the minibuses.” That private car should be the exclusive property of politicians and government officials.
In the budget, the government is saying to the workers of this country, you must not put aside money for private lessons for your children in order to give them a good education. In this budget, the government is saying to the workers you cannot set aside something for days of illness in the family. But instead when you are sick you should join the long lines at the public hospitals for hours without seeing a doctor, only to be told late in the afternoon that “the doctor is tired,” “he gone home,” “come back tomorrow.”
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address
provided)