Govt officials serving self rather than nation

Dear Editor,
As I travelled around earlier this month and engaged people about rating the Government, there were many complaints that politicians (Government officials) behave as though being in politics is about serving self and one’s family, rather than community or country.
In looking at the behaviour of several Government officials, people form an opinion that individuals enter into politics as a means of quickly getting rich. But it was not this way pre-independence, when people served with pleasure and hardly looking forward for gain.
Today’s politicians are very arrogant, and think highly of themselves when the truth is people have little respect for many of them.
Today, politicians seek office primarily to exercise power. Entering government is not about service to (everyone in a) community and the entire country.  Rather, it is about serving self, friends, family, and to some extent one’s race. This is quite different from the time of Jagan or Gandhi – political leaders who were incorruptible and who served to elevate people’s lives. They were about service to nation, and not to ethnicity.
In Guyana, politicians use office for self-enrichment. People have commented that corruption is pervasive in this administration. It is noted that the rate of return on political investment is huge — many enter government as paupers, and within a few years become multi-millionaires.
Advice to politicians: please start giving selfless service to the nation. Politicians should try to build a progressive team of people around them, people who are concerned about building and living in a better country. Upon entering office, they should help build a better nation than what they found.
Politicians should conduct business above reproach. They should serve at their office with dedication, commitment and integrity. They should be open to constructive critique and not be thin-skinned. They should raise the standards of Government service to a higher level than what they found, instead of degrading the office.
In sum, politicians have been serving themselves. They are urged to focus on service and not self.

Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram