This week we asked the man and woman in the street what is improving in Guyana and what could be done to improve the country. Their responses follow:
Clifton Cummings, vendor – ‘As far I am concerned nothing is improving in Guyana. What I am seeing on the rise is race discrimination. We all know that Guyana has many creative people but they are not being employed by businesses. Take for instance the Marriott Hotel; only Chinese are being hired. As a nation I believe we need to stand up and start uniting for a better Guyana.’
Donnette Harding, vendor – ‘I think what is improving is the Chinese that are here in Guyana opening up businesses all over Guyana. I don’t think it’s a good thing for our country because we can’t go into other nations like that. We would be deported. Our government starts things and never finish them. Minor things like garbage and petty crimes are increasing problems. Employment is another issue; a young person cannot go out there and get a proper job. I don’t think anything is improving in Guyana.’
Vandyke Williams, media worker – ‘I think Guyana has improved a lot in terms of development in infrastructure for example with the construction of the Marriott Hotel and the expansion of Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Guyana has come a long way and it is evident with the road linking Guyana to Brazil and the Amaila Falls hydropower project.
Murphy David, student – ‘The education sector, to me, needs improving. More emphasis should be placed on resources provided to all schools for better performances in Mathematics and English. My suggestion is that government should start looking at ways to provide people with jobs and most of all, security for citizens.’
Tyrone Talbot, social activist – ‘Nothing is improving in Guyana, just crime and more poor people suffering. Just look at the subject and ask your self what is improving and why in this country. The proposed budget gives nothing to the poor, it is just a continuation of gifting to the rich and raping of the poor.
Billions of dollars are being pumped into road projects but none is ever built; only crime is seen to enjoy positive growth.’
Allison Joseph, self-employed – ‘I see no improvement. There needs to be more improvement especially in the job sector, where many young people are left without proper employment. This is why we have all the crimes in our country, because the young people have nothing to do. We have thousands of young able bodied people who willing to work when they bring a set of Chinese nationals to build the Marriott Hotel. Garbage is another issue that needs to be addressed. In Burnham time we had cardboard boxes so if they were thrown about the place they degraded after a time. I do not know what year Guyana is going to be what I knew it was back then.’
Lindon Charles – ‘To me there is an improvement in the health and justice sectors. The public sector has improved with more medical professions available and more hospital facilities. The rising confidence of our medical personnel is now taking the taking the load off the Cuban doctors who are stationed here.’
Mary Burrowes, businesswoman – ‘Nothing is improving. All I see improving is the Chinese nationals and thieving. Well there need to be an improvement in the garbage we seeing around the place; Ganga Persaud and the new town clerk need to be blamed for that. The schools also need improving. This whole thing with the schools is going haywire because corporal punishment was taken out of the education system. The government, to me, does not care anything about our young people.’
Winifred Sam, businesswoman – ‘Nothing is improving. Some people ain’t got anything to feed their children when the day come. When you open the papers is nothing proper you could read about. The price of food going up and people now complaining about paying $20 more on the bus fare. It get so bad people now pawning their gold at the pawn shops and leaving it because they can’t pay back.’
Ashley Pindar, private sector employee – ‘To me there are some improvements in our nation with the tourism sector. We have more tourists than we use to have and visitors come to Guyana more. We have more young people becoming lawyers, doctors, electricians and nurses.’