“That’s life, that’s what all the people say.
You’re riding high in April,
Shot down in May”
Frank Sinatra even got the months right in his 1966 version of the classic ballad “That’s Life.” because right now that’s politics in our country.
A few weeks ago it was all about the great success story of our “One Guyana”. The fastest growing economy in the universe, an investors’ paradise embarked on massive and transformative infrastructure with an energetic and caring President.
And then May comes around with a series of calamitous events: the ruling over insurance for Liza 1 that has thrown the government into a tizzy. Even Exxon seems stumped, and one wonders if they have been duped into thinking that the government could be relied upon for a “predictable decision”. But this is the type of thing that happens when we don’t have the Petroleum Commission and new legislation that the party promised three years ago. Instead it’s a one man cake shop with shortcuts that backfire to the country’s detriment.
But before that, there was the Home Affairs permanent secretary’s detention in Miami and the annulment of her US visa. The timidity with which the PPP addressed this strange event indicated they were, and still are, hiding something.
Next the escape of Royden Williams, possibly the most dangerous criminal in the history of this country through a plan that points to him being the leader of a well-armed gang. More slackness under Minister Benn’s portfolio. Let us hope we do not return to the `Troubles’ and again need the help of a convicted drug trafficker.
And now Mahdia. The single biggest loss of life since Jonestown and a body blow for any ruling party anywhere. How to strike the balance between being seen to mourn while refusing to accept responsibility for the deaths of the 19? How to massage the narrative to avoid blame? 1)Start with highlighting the heroism of the pilots, 2)Emphasise that it was allegedly a deviant student who started the fire, 3) Make sure to mention how hard the President is working. (What he fails to understand is that real leadership ensures such tragedies don’t or rarely ever happen) 4)Organise a carefully calibrated outpouring of compassion and care for the students. (What a pity there was not the same concern and attention when they were alive.)
Of course the fact these vulnerable girls were crammed into some dorm points to the educational discrimination against indigenous people. In Region Nine failure rates at CSEC have been well over 70%. A 2017 UNICEF report notes out of 100 indigenous boys and girls, only 53 would reach the final years of secondary education. “The main factors identified as influencing school attendance and students’ permanence in school were: (i) lack of schools, mainly secondary, in the hinterlands and difficulty of access to them….
Deficiencies in quality of education for children and adolescents in the hinterlands are influenced by the following factors: (i) lack of qualified teachers and resources such as books and learning materials, among others; (ii) poor infrastructure at the schools, including buildings that are old; lack of computers and access to the internet and lack of science labs in general. In most of the visited schools, the washrooms were in dilapidated conditions; many did not have doors or running water and were dirty. In some schools, students preferred to use the bushes rather than the sanitary blocks.” There is a lack of regard for Amerindian parents who in wanting a better education for their daughters are forced to trust in the state to protect their safety and virtue.
Mahdia was an accident just waiting to happen. The deficit of fire prevention equipment in the building, and the inadequate systems to unlock the dorm in case of a fire; then there was the absence of an adequate fire tender in the town. Just another example of the lack of importance successive governments have placed on the residents of Mahdia’s safety. In fact it goes for most of Guyana. Your house catches fire, it’s you and the bucket brigade. And let us stop blaming the fire service which has been underfunded for decades by governments who have simply chosen not to prioritise the safety of its citizens and their homes. Finally in the 21st century there is no DNA laboratory to identify the remains of the children? It would be farcical if it were not so sad.
In other countries the subject ministers would be expected to immediately offer their resignations out of principle. The President might politely decline but the gestures would go a long way in acknowledging their responsibility. Instead in a shocking and heartless decision the party paraded some of the survivors at a cande-lit vigil – one even wearing a cast – comforted by the very minister entrusted with their dead classmates’ safety. At some point the PPP/C political drama we all live in becomes a dark absurdist pantomime.
This has been a damaging week, a hard week. Not only the loss of human life but a stark, grey reminder that we live in a country that continues to be very badly run with little regard for its citizens’ safety. No amount of oil money in the world will change that.
It’s tedious to read (and write) of the other avoidable deaths we have seen in the past few days that drive home what a dangerous place this country is to live and work in. A young lady killed by an alleged drunken driver at Camp and Church Sts, a construction worker crushed to death on Sheriff St; an 84-year-old lady from Buxton crushed by a garbage truck; and a senior prison officer killed driving into a pile of sand on the parapet. The promise to clear such hazards from our roads made by Minister Edghill is empty posturing.
Incompetence and slackness abound. To put it politely, the government needs to get it together.