Bulkan’s Government’s treatment of Guyanese: “squeezing stone to extract blood”

Dear Editor,
I must thank the Honourable Minister Ronald Bulkan for taking time-off from his ‘busy’ schedule to address my letter which he described as ‘misleading conjectures’. However, this will not invalidate the veracity of the content therein.
Editor, allow me to inform the Communities Minister that whenever I give my views; my personal view and not the views of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). The only person who speaks on behalf of the PPP is the General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo. I spoke of ‘change’ since this is the mantra of Bulkan’s Government, hence, when I asked the rhetorical question: What differences have Local Government Elections and governance made to your lives and communities?
I was alluding to that change which was promised. We expected to see vast improvements and progress above what is already achieved by these Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC). It was in this context that I have said: ‘I am absolutely sure that nothing much has changed in your communities or lives.’ Where is the ‘good life’ Minister Bulkan?
Bulkan boasted about the increase of subvention from $3 million to $4 million, a mere 25 per cent over a three-year period. One million cannot even repair one street in an NDC area. How can NDCs be empowered when they desperately lack resources?
No amount of training can empower anyone without resources and this Government has been very selective in allocating the resources. For instance, the Fyrish NDC which is controlled by Bulkan’s party was gifted a brand new long boom Hymac to remain in that NDC while the neighbouring NDC, which is controlled by the PPP, was given a small Hymac which was taken away months ago and sent to Georgetown under the pretext of repairs. Why is it that a Hymac in operable condition was sent for repairs in Georgetown?
Bulkan also boasted about the return of Local Government Elections after two decades but he has failed to mention the gerrymandering which he has done to obtain for his party a political advantage in future elections. This is in addition to the many electoral frauds aided by the Guyana Elections Commission which is being perpetrated by his party and the Alliance For Change. Is this the restoration of local democracy by this Government? No! It is the restoration of the electoral fraud which the People’s National Congress is adept at.
Furthermore, this Government’s link of taxes to economic development is stupefying and gross insanity. This Government believes that the NDCs should implement an increase in rates and taxes and only this can empower the NDC to carry out developmental works.
I have stated in my letter that even in NDCs and municipalities controlled by the A Partnership for National Unity and where they imposed 100 per cent taxes, nothing has changed. I said Government needs to pump more resources into the LAAs. Already the residents are faced with an increase in their cost of living by skyrocketing increases in more than 200 taxes, closure of estates, dismissal of thousands on sugar workers, the decline in rice production and many other negative variables so it will be disastrous to bleed these people any further. Bukan and his colleagues are enjoying their humongous salary increases, perks and other benefits so what do they care about the common man.
Is Bulkan trying to postulate that LAAs should generate all the resources needed to efficiently run them? This is totally asinine! LAAs can only do so much for their respective communities, it is the Central Government which must make up for the deficit in the budgets of these entities and ensure development is taking place.
How many communities have Bulkan visited to see what is needed and what can be done? This Government feels that the holding of LGE is the panacea for all the ills facing our communities. It is time that this Government gives realistic subventions which can be used to do tangible development in the LAAs and at the same time take up the slack to ensure that all the LAAs are developed evenly regardless of perceived political affiliations.
Lastly, Bulkan should also reply to me as to the reason why subventions are still to be disbursed to many of the NDCs, his selective nitpicking of my letter will not absolve him from the inefficiency and incompetence of his Ministry and his Government.
This is clearly an attempt to make the 75 per cent PPP controlled NDCs look bad before the upcoming LGE. Guyanese are conscious that Minister Bulkan’s Government and his party is squeezing Guyanese to extract money that they don’t have that is like “squeezing stone to extract blood “.

Yours sincerely,
Zamal Hussain