Dear Editor,
On reading Sister Mary Noel Menezes’ letter captioned ‘City Hall must be saved before it collapses,’ (SN, October 6) my immediate reaction was one of bewilderment, although I empathised with her anger and disgust. Guyanese are morally, socially, economically, politically and spiritually bankrupt, and it would require a herculean effort from the type of leadership we do not have to free us from the morass we are in presently.
Recently I visited Suriname on a couple of occasions. The country has a population of approximately 430,000 of which 90 per cent reside near the coast, not unlike us here in Guyana, but although they are multi-cultural, their historic sites and buildings are immaculately preserved. Incidentally, decades ago they were casually referred to as our ‘poor neighbour to the east,’ where one guilder was exchanged for G32 cents, at present the exchange rate is G$65 to one Suriname guilder.
Editor, let me also add – and this is very important – litter in the streets is almost absent, and we drove extensively around Paramaribo but did not see the obscene traffic behaviour we in this country have adopted. It is not tolerated there, and rarely you encounter blasting horns, or parking in the streets, etc; discipline is so evident.
Sister Menezes is in order to be indignant about what is happening to City Hall and also what was allowed to happen to New Amsterdam Hospital among others. Having said that, I fervently believe that the Mayor and his cohorts in the council should hang their collective heads in shame, for they are a part of the problem. They should resign. Monday last I observed a large amount of garbage dumped on the north-western parapet of Parliament Building.
On Thursday afternoon, the garbage had not yet been removed. Now this is Parliament where we pass our laws, etc. Should I say more? I think not? Whither goest Guyana?
Yours faithfully,
Lloyd W Davidson
