Last May, Guyanese from all walks of life took a decision to vote for change while in the process taking a stance against corruption, poor governance and alleged low levels of ethnic inclusivity and unity, according to results released by the Guyana Elections Commission.
Those who voted in favour of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change coalition also voted against executive lawlessness
and neglect, a handful of antidemocratic policies, low levels of public consultation on core policies, a lack of meaningful and genuine constitutional and public sector reforms, bureaucratic inefficiency, rising levels of continued crime and criminality, and below par economic performance.
In short, the electorate wanted to give those two coalesced political parties the chance to better the track record of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic by delivering higher levels of standard of living, stronger economic performance, increased public security and safety, higher levels of ministerial integrity, and overall stability buoyed by sound legislative, hemispheric and foreign policy agendas.
The elections came and went. A new Government was installed and began working to deliver on its promises coupled with high public expectation on the part of those who voted for them and others who were still undecided about their ability to run a country.
A well-meaning President David Granger took control of the country and from that point to this date, there has been little meaningful and positive change in the manner in which things are done in the country.
It is even being argued by independents and supporters of all three parties that things have gotten worse in some respects. The cleanup campaign and its initial momentum which has died a natural death aside, the new Government still does not have a clear, realistic and viable plan for the country’s sustained socioeconomic development.
From the press conferences held by ministers and key government spokespersons, the releases issued, to the contracts signed and deals entered, it is clear that a day-today decision-making approach is being used to run Guyana.
There is no serious and well-thought-out or even documented underlying economic or sociopolitical philosophy at work that will benefit the masses and non-supporters of the coalition government in particular. What is clearer, however, is that government by its very actions and undertakings appears to be executing a carefully thought-out plan rooted in discrimination on the basis of geopolitical considerations and I dare say even race factors. So far, while most right thinking Guyanese are concerned about the situation, Indo-Guyanese are facing the worst hardships as rice, sugar, agriculture and working class retail and wholesale variety businesses are plummeting daily.
But government priorities appear to be holding “big bash celebrations” periodically in Guyana and the diaspora under the guise of commemorating Guyana’s 50th Independence anniversary. Every serious government stakeholder is busy jubileeing while the country is sinking deeper because of a lack of executive foresight and vision.
Crime is spiralling out of control too, while unemployment is expanding in almost all of the traditional and now nonperforming nontraditional sectors. The macroeconomic actions of government can also see new forms of crises developing for the banking and finance sectors, the now stagnant and unimpressive private sector and other dependent sectors.
When government awakens, it may be too late because it wasted a significant portion of its tenure going after the PPP/C even though to date the public has been indifferent to many of its trivial, unimpressive and sensational figures because of the melodrama and theatrics with which they are leaked and forced down the throats of the public and media.
Also, government itself is grappling with a structural crisis, internal disharmony among its coalition partners and a lack of confidence in the AFC’s ability to deliver anything to the coalition. What is strange is that the government is not listening and has become arrogant… check the postures and rhetoric of the Social Cohesion, Public Security and Prime Minister’s for classic examples.
Things were far better and less ethnically tense under the PPP/C despite its missteps. They were supposed to be better under the new government but so far this is not the case.
Someone needs to give the government some saline or it will not leave a one term legacy that we can all be proud of. It is time to stop the big bash and get down to improving the lives of the poor and ordinary folks in the country. They cannot eat the new multimillion dollar D’Uban Park stadium for survival nor can they live on the starvation wages offered as a “lil raise” by the government. They deserve far better… it is time for the APNU/AFC clan to deliver the Good Life.
