Dear Editor,
It is rather unfortunate and extremely sad that the head of state would stoop so low to viciously attack and criticize his supporters in the diaspora at a ceremony in Buxton last Sunday ‒ the very supporters who made sacrifices to help him get elected.
This is nothing new. As always, the Head of State is very crafty in misleading the public. He did so on numerous occasions, namely over the controversial trip to China, the drug bond scandal, the D’Urban Park project, the audit reports and the several Commissions of Inquiry (CoI), among others.
During the election, he promised that his government would prosecute those found culpable of corruption, but after spending more than $250 million of the taxpayers’ money on audits and SARU, no one has been charged.
In July, the Head of State established a CoI to investigate the deaths of Antonio and Joshua George who died in a fire at the government drop-in centre for abused children on Hadfield Street. Again, he promised to discipline those found guilty of dereliction of duty.
The CoI report found dereliction of duty among senior members of the Ministry of Social Services, yet no one was disciplined. Again, words were not matched with action. So rather than telling the members of the diaspora to stop writing, the head of state should match his words with action.
He has not only abandoned the youths who voted overwhelmingly for him, but he also told them to become entrepreneurs while he employed hundreds of pensioners and retired military personnel. The youths do not have jobs, so where will they get the money to invest?
His refusal to respond to the resolution sent to him over a month ago from several groups in Richmond Hill, Queens and in Brooklyn is not only ungrateful and callous, but is also insensitive.
He has shown total contempt for the diaspora which is a clear reflection of political immaturity, lack of ideological foundation and the inability to communicate with the public.
No mature and sensible political leader would insult his/her supporters in the diaspora or anywhere else. Only amateurish and elitist leaders would do such a thing. The Head of State should take a page out of the books of Forbes Burnham, Cheddi Jagan, Desmond Hoyte and even Bharrat Jagdeo, who have always heaped praise on and respected their supporters in the diaspora and elsewhere.
Not only did the Head of State launch his political campaign in the diaspora but he also begged its members for money to finance the 2011 and 2015 election campaigns.
In light of this, the Head of State made promises which he has not fulfilled. Neither has he thanked his supporters in the diaspora for their support. Instead, he chose to meet with a few elitist Guyanese at a US$500.00 a plate dinner, at the prestigious Sheraton Hotel in mid-town Manhattan, who did not raise a finger to obtain funds or mobilize support for him during the campaign. It was an elitist gathering.
Before telling the members of the diaspora to stop writing and invest in Guyana, the Head of State should first clean up the mess at the Ministry of Business which takes over a year to issue a business permit. Let it be known that no smart investor would invest in a country with constant power blackouts, frequent water shortages, a high crime rate, rampant corruption and a government that is arrogant and highly incompetent. In the last eighteen months, conditions in the country have worsened to the point where visitors would be risking their lives visiting it, much less to invest. The promise of good governance has turned out to be no governance and an exchange, instead of change.
Elites tend to insult and mistreat their supporters and then ask them favours, such as to invest in the country. The diaspora has lost confidence and trust in the government and many have already disassociated themselves from it. They are young and therefore time is on their side.
Let it be known that members of the diaspora are not disposable human beings who can be used and abused as was the case in the last election. They have rejected the wishy-washy statement from a ceremonial leader who has lost his way. Today the poor in the country are experiencing more hardship than at any time before this, which is making the PPP very attractive. The shellacking of the coalition government by the PPP in the local government election is a classic example.
Yours faithfully,
Asquith Rose
