Dear Editor,
I would like to express my disgust and surprise at the attitude of the APNU+AFC government over the recent increases in salaries for ministers and members of parliament. It is rather heartrending to see this government just after five months or so having decided that they should get a sizeable increase compared to the meagre sum given to the public servants.
I voted and worked in my area to ensure that the APNU+AFC coalition got into government, but the current attitude being displayed by the powerhouse Joseph Harmon is telling me that five years is enough for this government. When a minister of government who is a servant of the people can boldly say he has no apologies to make, it is clear that he suffers from power-drunkenness and has no regard for the populace.
The members of government must understand that they have taken on a responsibility to serve the people of Guyana, and just as they want super salaries, the public servants deserve that too, because it is they who do the bulk of the work in the various ministries. The ministers and their advisers already receive numerous allowances and fringe benefits, such as duty-free concessions, among other things, so I don’t see the rush for an increase in salary when the nation was told that the financial position of the country is bleak. Could Harmon and the government not wait until 2016 for such an increase?
Editor, there has been no empirical evidence to show that large salaries will ensure that people will not steal or be involved in corrupt activities; rather economics has proven that once people earn more, then things like their taste preferences, among other things, are likely to change. For example, if I used to eat lunch at Germans, then an increase in salaries or wages can see me now eating at the Pegasus. It therefore follows that the more one earns one the more one will see to buy, and humans in general always want more in their lives. Man by nature is not contented.
I call on the trade unions and civil society to take a stand right now; it is too early for this government to trample on the citizens and moreso take advantage of God- fearing and loving Guyanese who voted to ensure they got into office, Mr Harmon owes this nation an apology and it is time he started thinking before he speaks. Local government elections are soon to be held, and if this government wants to win these elections, they had better be careful about what they are doing. I have decided that whether my family and I take part in local government elections will depend on the performance of this government and their attitude and modus operandi, since I have come to the conclusion that when people are out of power they say one thing and when they get into power they say something else and forget the small man who worked tirelessly to ensure that they would be elevated.
Editor, I have heard and seen some of the known activists speak on this issue; the time is now for action. We sat for twenty-three years and accepted the wrongdoing of the PPP/C regime, but we must not sit down for five years and allow this government to trample on the rights of Guyanese and let them believe that because we wanted a change, we will settle for an exchange.
Yours faithfully,
Garfield Boston
