Dear Editor,
Given the credibility of some of the candidates for CEO of GECOM, I am thinking of running. I say unambiguously: not one of them could compete in the much-needed truth and ethical departments. Here is where I stand on how this position should operate, using my own measuring rods, worldviews, and appreciations for the requirements of the most demanding seasonal job in Guyana. The field of local names are not up to scratch; but already I can see how the race shapes up, who will be part of the short-listing charade, and which one will be chosen. If I had a vote, it would be for a foreigner, since locals can’t separate themselves from our politics, and the wily machinations of leaders.
For my part, I would run the thing like it has never been run before. I would not take any calls; especially from PPP and PNC leaders. The same goes for foreigners, which everyone should know who I mean. I mean business, and this is how this place will function, and no fooling around. People playing around with documents or systems would be summarily dismissed. Officials who can’t count, and/or fail eye tests, viz, differentiating between SoPs and a POW, and the rest. go down, are out. And if the commissioners try their usual fancy footwork and fast ones, then the fight will be taken to them, and embarrass their sorry, ahem, posteriors. In my mind, the CEO of GECOM should answer to no one. Only to God, and his conscience. We will deal with the courts later, and the howls from whomever, whenever. In true PPP and PNC fashion, there would be an Iron Curtain of silence.
Editor, this job has to be dealt with in a no-nonsense, hardnosed, bare-knuckle approach with not a single bow to political correctness. The media will be met with and managed on terms that work one way only: The Frank Sinatra one. The outraged always have social media, and other rum shops to vent their vehemence. The holder of the position, if he or she has the guts and other anatomical attributes, has to deal straight, speak straight, and live straight. I know this is alien to the Guyanese mentality and practice, but that is what it must be. For, as I think of the names heard, I am reminded of those condemned last year. Same clothes, same mindsets -how to finesse matters, so that the people who placed them there triumph; the only difference today are the faces, and the cover stories: well-rehearsed, well-presented. Don’t be fooled, these fellows are closet manipulators. As should be obvious by now, I have scant regard for most Guyanese. I start at Freedom House, move to Congress Place, and close at GECOM. It’s why I say: give it to the foreigners. Get rid of the Guyanese.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
