Dear Editor,
The statement of the women’s arm of the ruling Party, the Women’s Progressive Organization (WPO), in response to public revulsion at the Minister of Health’s threats of physical and sexual harm against a lone woman asking him a pertinent work-related question during office hours on a working day included the PPP’s characteristic language of patronage politics:
‘Dr. Ramsarran is known for his support for women’s empowerment and has always been prepared to provide assistance to women especially those who are medically challenged’ (SN, ‘PPP women’s arm “extremely disappointed” at Ramsaran’, 24 April 2015).
The citizen is here cast as the supplicant, the all-powerful PPP Minister as the dispenser of favours.
‘Bheri Best’ — the Minister’s self-description during an official meeting, again during working hours, two days after his initial threats against Ms Nageer’s person — heads a Ministry that is financed by taxpayers and mandated to serve all Guyanese. Governmental Ministries are not private fiefdoms, mandated to dispense patronage under the euphemism, ‘providing assistance’.
Article 149F of Guyana’s Constitution safeguards gender equality. In practice, evidence of inequality and patronage politics were on display in a whistleblower’s disclosure in late February 2015 of the names of the persons who were selectively favoured to benefit from Government’s support for overseas medical treatment during the period 2012-13.
As SN noted: ‘the government spent G$361 million on health expenses, mostly for government officials, during the period in question …Navin Chandarpal was at the head of the list, with $116 million … Attorney General Anil Nandlall’s medical expenses which were met by the taxpayer totalled $4.9 million, … while Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture Ali Baksh had a coronary bypass for which the state paid $12.2 million. The government also paid his air fare, which amounted to $249,600. It might be added that this is the first occasion on which the public has become aware that he had a bypass (SN, ‘Medical expenses’, 1 March 2015).
The Government responded in the same way to the overseas medical expenses disclosures as it did to the serial abuses of Bheri Best two months later – ‘Health Ministry slams media reports on medical aid to gov’t officials’ (SN, 2 March 2015).
In short, the ruling Party dispenses patronage, mostly to the select few at the top. The rest of Guyanese can get in line, and, if they demonstrate allegiance to the Party, vie with each other for the remaining drops that spill from the cup.
Yours faithfully,
Janette Bulkan
