It has been two and a half weeks since the garbage was picked up where I live. Are we to wait until after Local Government Elections on June 12 for all areas of the city to be regularly cleaned and maintained? We the people are constantly being tested and tried. Some are broken into silence, bribed into being minions, proud to wear the colours of oppression and shamed for speaking about the wickedness and vindictiveness of the corrupt. Guyana runs on incompetence.
A few days ago, in the pouring rain I made my way to add to the mounting garbage bags waiting to be picked up on the side of the street as many bins are already full. I watched the garbage strewn along the street which is now the neighbourhood dogs and rodents’ paradise. There was a feeling of despair. I asked myself once more – how difficult it is to keep the country clean? How often must I highlight that Guyana has a solid waste management problem? How often must it be said that it is not only the people’s fault, but also the ones we put in charge who are more focused on scoring political points and will not do right by the people. Guyana runs on incompetence, but we allow it.
As I waded in the flood waters last week in my long boots, hoping that not a splash of that sewage and garbage filled water would touch my skin, I felt like screaming. The little voice inside grew louder telling me I cannot stay in this country for another five years.
“But I can!”
“But do you want to?”
A few nights ago, I woke sometime in the early morning hours in pitch darkness. It was another blackout. With the light from my phone to guide me to the washroom I sighed. Here we go again. Rain and blackout. The rain is a natural occurrence, but the blackout is a result of – Guyana runs on incompetence. Later, hours into day many places were still without power. And as usual, the people cried and complained. The cries and complaints of the people seem to fly over the heads of those in charge at the Guyana Power and Light (GPL). Whether it is their rat biting cables excuses, vehicles running into poles or maintenance, in 2023, Guyana still has a blackout problem and that is evidence once more that we run on incompetence.
Garbage is being left on the street for weeks while the threat of disease is real as the flies and rodents multiply. We are said to be a fast-growing economy. Oil is said to be running through our veins – well not the veins of the average Guyanese, only those who have access to the oil and its profits. But somewhere in the minds of a few delusional ones, Guyana will soon resemble Dubai. So, let us appeal to those whose religion is oil. Let us ask them to bless us in their dreams. Can’t we use the oil to wash away our sins since it is supposed to be the saviour of this country? Can the oil not magically melt the garbage away, keep the power on, put an end to the flooding, fill the bellies of the hungry and erase all the economic hardships so that Guyana will glitter like a golden statue when it is seen on the map?
We are not there yet. Though it floods every time there are heavy rains, there are plans for more four or five-star hotels to be built. Garbage floats in the flood waters, but another foreign fast-food business is coming. And while some drink their coffee and are happy, another person who does not fight or stand for anything is wiping their mouth from eating their expensive steak and fooling themselves into believing that because their pockets are lined with gold, Guyana is on the road of progress.
There are frequent blackouts, but as the people say, “Guyana nice.”
The complaints annoy some who tell us that we will eventually get there, and we need to stop criticizing and instead embrace progress.
“We have to give the government time!” they say.
“One, one dutty build dam!” they say.
I will be loud about progress when I see that it is happening for all Guyanese. This dam we have been building since 1966! Must we wait another 57 years when the oil has depleted, and we are perhaps grappling with environmental issues due to the abuses of the oil industry and lack of care for the Guyanese people? Like our 2-billion-dollar oil spill dreams. It should be noted that the largest offshore oil spill in world history – BP’s Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill in 2010 cost over US60 billion dollars. But for this land of the delusional, the sheep, the oppressed and the desperate, our dreams must be wrapped up in a fraction of that. We sit quietly while we watch our government betray us and the other institutions such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) whose functions are supposed to be in our best interests.
And while atrocities abound the voices of many who were once loud are now quiet on corruption. Some of those who are social media commentators, wannabe journalists and advisors who instead use their voices now to further their selfish agendas or for foolish distractions.
How long must we wait for a country where we do not have to suffer because of incompetence? How long must the ones who complain or condemn vile actions be told that they just do not want to see progress? How long do we keep giving the same people we have had in power for the last 57 years the opportunity to lie to us, enrich themselves, and we just sit and take it? For the survival of this country, we cannot continue to run on incompetence, but it is a minority that actively protest – like the few people walking around the country to protest the corruption and inequity involved in oil and the few taking oil matters to court. The majority seem are afraid to speak.
I guess for now Guyana will continue to run on incompetence. And what does that say about the future of our country while the garbage sits in the streets, the flooding continues, and the ghosts of our past continue to haunt us especially on those blackout nights.
