Dear Editor,
Any medium, print or otherwise, which exposes malfeasance, particularly that which impacts on the public purse, must be commended and supported. Conversely, those which seek to cover up or excuse corruption should be ostracized.
Pictures of Kingston under floodwater resulting from a koker attendant being drunk must remind us of the 2005 flood and of other incidents of flooding where some koker attendants were drunk or otherwise negligent.
While dismissal may visit the Kingston koker attendant, who will compensate residents and businesses in Kingston for their loss? Why aren’t people who negligently cause destruction/loss of property not taken before the courts? Why dismissal only? When will this nonsense stop?
For a country which boasts perhaps some of the most qualified parliamentarians in the Caribbean, we must be the laughing stock of the world. The harsh fact is that our politicians are incapable of managing a country of only 750,000 people and endless resources. Smaller territories have surpassed us because of their commitment to their country, over and above partisan pettiness.
The current budget impasse is creating havoc for the entire country. Both sides in Parliament are grinding this country to a halt. But which politician cares? They are so pre-occupied with partisan loyalties and egomania that they can’t see the trees from the bushes.
I would be the first to support the call for an investigation into all the secret deals, etc, under the Jagdeo regime. The AFC in particular must be congratulated for bringing these matters to the public’s attention. CJIA, NICIL, even the Skeldon Factory, GPC deal, CLICO fiasco, etc, etc. Indeed, there is quite a lot which needs to be exposed and accounted for.
However, it seems that Guyana is cursed with that plague whereby the more one steals – particularly big ones – the more one is rewarded. This nation has lost its sense of propriety, decency and vision. We live in a dog-eat-dog country, where the more aggressive the dog is, the more protected it is. Even our courts seem incapable of meting out justice. The halls of justice are no longer hallowed.
Back to the grandstanding which currently characterizes Parliament. If Parliament has the authority to question releases from the Contingencies Fund, or whichever source, can’t the mechanisms currently in place to monitor what becomes of these releases after they have been made, do their work? The opposition is represented on all of the oversight committees in Parliament. In fact, they even head some. With their parliamentary majority, they can bring PSs and other accounting personnel before these committees. They can peruse major contracts, etc, via those mechanisms. A budget is not money in hand. It is a plan as to how revenues will come in and how those revenues will be spent. Parliament has the function to see that this is done properly.
It is puerile to continue the current budget gridlock. The opposition is out of touch with the effects of their grandstanding. They should take a step back, review their decision relative to those agencies given the token $1, then peruse with a fine-toothed comb how monies are spent.
Inflated egos, which seem to possess and consume some parliamentarians, will lead to their demise. The race is not for the swift, but for those with staying power. Their job as elected officials is to ensure fair play. There are major differences between witch-hunting and representing for transparency.
At the end of the day, let us put Guyana first. None of us can cure all the ills of this country. But, in giving it our best shot, let us aim wisely.
As an aside, do many public servants work to justify a pay increase? Visit the Tax Department, post offices, government ministries, Deeds Registry, police stations. And the bribes in some cases!
Yours faithfully,
Godfrey Skeete
