Dear Editor,
As this year winds down, and the Granger administration gathers itself to step up, I am hopeful for this battered and bruised land. I have seen some positive things in the making; now I look forward to much more.
There was an apology from the Colonel. I stand to be corrected, but it is unmatched during the time of the last political blast furnace. No matter how articulated or conditioned, an apology occurred. Somewhere, where it matters, there is listening. Just a few days ago, there were protests relative to a bill; revisions followed. Somebody is listening, somebody is acting.
In a long parched period of political, social, and media abuses and ills, no one ever apologized or adjusted for or to anybody. Not on media advertising; not on personnel debauchery; and not on major malfeasances involving money –the people’s money.
Today, I take what the new government has given, and wait for more.
On another note, great were the instilled fears of purges ethnic and old fashioned pogroms. The facts and circumstances of the last half year speak for themselves, and all in diametric opposition to such mongering. I am yet to notice a dismissal that was not proper. As for those sent on leave, they know the issues and stories better than anyone. They know what and how and when and now why. They know, also, that there are those episodes best left where they are currently: unprinted and sub rosa.
To be sure, the new group lost some steps and some face in terms of chronology, quantity, quality, and priority. Think pay, some appointments, some awards, and street renaming. It should learn. It can make lasting amends through constitutional reform movement, genuine movement towards social cohesion, and moving and shaking out the Guyana Police Force into some semblance of a standout entity. That is, as a substantive fourth arm of government. The outreach to citizens ought to become a staple, a monthly norm. All of these would be an acceptable beginning.
I know citizens are impatient and demanding, and none more so than government supporters. I think a reminder is in order. Despite the mindboggling exposés now surfacing with numbing frequency, the full extent of earlier political depredations is still unknown, may never be known, they are so wide and deep. All of this distracts from the serious business of governance and progress; and of challenging this government to achieve and then overachieve.
Thus, I say steady at the wheel, eyes straight ahead, and forward march with locked arms and in lockstep. Any other way would be self-defeating.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall