Dear Editor,
Fiction writers, comedians and those with the literary talent to twist and turn words should spend a few days in Guyana and they would be able to put together many, many stories of amusement and amazement.
The first book would be titled “Who are they fooling?”
Just a few samples – you have a Police Force where at least half of the top middle and lower ranks believe that the Police Force means the Political Force. John Public is not fooled. Next, the Govern-ment has embarked on a reckless spending spree clearly designed to share our new wealth with those who are close to the administration and our government is comfortable. We can fill pages of woeful waste of our wealth. We can take comfort.
The majority of Guyanese are intelligent people and so when the murder of Paper Shorts cannot be solved by the police, and many other incidents, not many are fooled.
When Government officials are elected to the Executive of the PPP and are named as being complicit to regular and illegal dealings by a foreign government, not many of us are fooled as to the real story.
When Contracts worth millions and billions are awarded to groups with no record of competence and experience but there are noisy statements from the President and his top brass, we are not deceived. When a Government fails to provide meters and means to check on the quantity of oil being extracted every day, no one is fooled why this basic action by the simplest trader or shopkeeper is not in place, no one is fooled.
When we hear Ministers tell us how the Local Content Law is violated every day and our top brass threatens to deal with the violators, no one is fooled because nothing will happen. Remember the old folks told us ‘wha mouth nah load.” For the young generation, this means is not what you say, is what you do.
When you set out to frustrate local authorities such as Georgetown and your state-controlled media blame the local authority. All of them are not fooled. When with pomp and ceremony you announce free education at our University but fail to tell the public who initiated free education from Nursery to University. You’re not fooling many folks.
When you are spending millions every day and still cannot provide a safe and reliable supply of electricity, who are you fooling? When you pump millions every month into a failed sugar industry but you do not tell the nation, as in the case of electricity, the real problem is the government’s proclivity to put square pegs in round holes. You’re not fooling anyone.
I conclude citizens and Editor, in response to this public spectacle of the 5:30 a.m. public meeting at State House. I hereby challenge His Excellency to provide this nation with a single project, only one Government Project (a). that was properly advertised, consistent with the law and our rules;
(b) there was transparency and fairness in the award of that contract; ( c) – that the awarded contractor was qualified based on the rules and regulations; (d) that the work was satisfactorily completed within the stated time frame; (e) which competent authority certified that the works or project was completed and (f) did the Engineer’s estimate derive from someone with experience, competence and duly qualified.
I publicly challenge the President and his top brass to provide only one Project that satisfies the above criteria, which should be the norm in any decent, democratic government.
This weekend, let us get on our knees and pray and pray that the Creator can save us and allow every Guyanese to benefit from the bounty that the Creator has given us. We see in other countries, Philippines, Spain nature and man destroying property and people.
Yours faithfully,
Hamilton Green
Elder
