Dear Editor,
As President Barack Obama recently defended his policies during a townhall-style meeting after the worst US recession since the 1930s was declared over, members of the audience voiced exasperation and disappointment at his administration. A lady stood up and addressed the President, “I’m one of your middle-class Americans. And quite frankly I’m exhausted. I’m exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now.”
After hearing that, I couldn’t help but visualize PPP/C party supporters and those who thought that a young economist named Bharrat Jagdeo was the answer to this country’s problems, expressing the same concern to him now. Problem is, he’ll ‘Ram’ them up, before they’re even given the opportunity to talk. But it will be interesting to know how President Jagdeo would respond to this.
According to a statement issued by Government Information Agency (GINA), “The eradication of extreme hunger and poverty, goal one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), adumbrated by the United Nations for attainment by 2015, has been realised by Guyana.” This statement is not only erroneous and ludicrous, it shows an elitist government totally out of touch with the ordinary people. On my recent visit to Guyana, my heart bled for the plight of our people; there was poverty everywhere I turned. Kids, especially young girls who are so vulnerable and could easily be taken advantage of, were begging in the street when they should have been in school studying; homeless women were sleeping in the shade of a tree, directly in front of the Parliament Building – but I don’t suppose Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand noticed any of this; and dilapidated buildings were everywhere. A walk through Stabroek Market revelled real signs of poverty:
I saw food being sold that’s reminiscent of ‘dog food’ – white rice cooked with chicken feet. When I enquired what it was, I was told very candidly, “Cook-up rice.” There were no salted beef, no pig’s tail, no colour. Even the pastries and dhal puri I was dying to eat, were not as tasty as those I usually buy from Sybill’s on Liberty Avenue in New York. And who can forget a thief losing his life recently, after stealing two loaves of bread from a bakery.
Yes Editor, poverty is very real in Guyana; people are without jobs, people are desperate and the high unemployment is contributing to the escalating crime rate. The economist in State House needs to mix more with the people, and find a way to stimulate the economy and create jobs. The people believed in him, they voted for him, and it’s time he delivers; his legacy depends on it.
Yours faithfully,
Harry Gill