Dear Editor,
I want to take this opportunity to wish all of your staff and your readers a happy, healthy New Year. In the New Year may democracy reign in our homeland.
On that note, my first letter for the year is to address the policy paralysis associated with Mr. David Granger and his promise of a Digital Nation after three years. In its 2015 Manifesto, the APNU+AFC promised on page 22, that Guyana will be “completely internet-ready in consonance with the objective of ensuring that Guyana becomes a Digital Nation” after three years. The promise from Team Granger was to build the framework to offer “a nationwide broadband network (NBN)” within three years. The evidence, however, illustrates differently. Another broken promise not delivered by Team Granger!
I was in Georgetown, Guyana and I can confirm, without a shadow of a doubt, that this promise is far from being delivered with Mr. Granger occupying office for the last four years and six months. In my communication with some Berbicians, especially in Rose Hall Town, the common theme from them remains – “I was lucky to be in Georgetown to get the best of what the internet has to offer since the internet service in Berbice is multiple times worse”. I was also in Diamond and Leonora and at each of these locations, the evidence confirms the conclusion of these Berbicians; the internet service in Guyana is an international abomination.
So what were Mr. Granger and his Team at the Ministry of Public Telecommunications doing over the last four years and six months? Billions of dollars were spent by these people and all this nation got from them were marginal improvements. Where is this efficient and functional national broadband network (NBN) that they promised to deliver within three years? How can you want to win public office and you have a history of gross incompetence?
Failure to develop this NBN is nothing but disrespectful to the youths who worked with you in 2015 on a principle that you would have done something new for them. But what I am observing today, is that the world is advancing faster than Guyana in occupying the Internet superhighway and this situation had contributed to us losing ground with regards to our competitiveness. How can this nation ever trust Mr. Granger again?
The bottom-line remains Guyana must have a functional national broadband network to transform our country economically and socially. Anything else is unacceptable. We cannot have these lost periods of four years and six months where the nation has a leader who is only engaged in pageantry rather than implementing policies and action plans to lift all of our people up.
Yours faithfully,
Sasenarine Singh
