Dear Editor,
Circulating on Facebook is a posting that supposedly came from Mr Lennox Shuman. This posting suggests that the PPP/C Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo had made to public servants an offer of a 50% pay hike. While the Parliamentarian did not confirm or deny the posting, I would still press forward with the following question.
I would like Mr Shuman to show us where the Vice President made such an offer? Was it in a private or public forum, and under what circumstances was that statement made? Or was it in one of the VP’s party manifesto documents?
Now, if Shuman cannot give a straightforward answer, then my advice to him is to put an end to this charade of his, and issue a public apology. Why make posturing like this without any supporting evidence to prove it? There must be factual evidence to support your case.
Then we must analyse the Parliamentarian’s reason for making such a posting. Is it to conjure the image, or send the message, that he is a “concerned” politician, and his concern for the people has prompted him to remind the PPP/C of its missteps? What is the message Shuman wants to share? This “soon to vacate his post” Parliamentarian must stand up and account for himself regarding what was his real motive for issuing that posting. Was it a move to shore up his image as a “concerned politician”? Or, as they put it, holding the Government accountable?
Otherwise, Shuman’s missive was meant to stir up mischief, which does not augur well for him or his party.
Then it behooves me to believe that there must be some other motive involved here. But whether Dr Jagdeo may or may not have issued that statement, the point is no sector – public or private – can make a 50% increase in wages and salaries outside of the scale of normal wage increases. It is simply an unreal and idiotic statement to make, and Dr Jagdeo is none of those. Where in the civilised world, developed or developing, could a Government make such an offer, especially to a non-productive sector?
Are you telling me that housing, education, infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture – just to name a few – must be sacrificed for Public Servants? Is this the real-life scenario Shuman is putting up? I hope the misguided Parliamentarian is not giving that impression. If he is, then he needs to do some introspection.
You see, with the coming of oil, it is the mistaken view of some in society that Guyana should become a welfare state, if not a spendthrift state, overnight – just doling out money hither, thither and yon. Well, this is neither the purpose, cause, nor outlook of a small developing state such as ours. Working one’s way up into a healthy, robust economy takes into consideration careful planning and preparation, and the proper execution of those plans. In this regard, all sectors – I repeat, all sectors – must get the proper treatment it rightly deserves.
Should we pump money into health or agriculture at the expense of infrastructure, and my answer to you is, “Certainly not!” Real development means that all sectors must be given simultaneous sustainable financing at a pace conducive to modern development.
Conversely, a lopsided approach to development would certainly bring us into ruin, as has plagued many countries in the developing world. Guyana could ill afford such pitfalls.
Respectfully,
Neil Adams
