Dear Editor,
In a recent letter, ‘The press should investigate the killing of the miners,’ published in SN on June 27, I asked the government agencies concerned to explain why the 39 micro projects financed by the EU were vetoed by the Guyana government. Your paper reported that one project was at Ithaca, on the West Bank of the Berbice River, another at Villages 28 to 30 on the West Coast Berbice and another at Blankenburg, West Coast, Demerara.
Please correct my impression if necessary, but so far as I know the government has offered no explanation.
I know these villages and to some extent their populations. The Berbice names of spokespersons and developers are African Guyanese persons. The developer and spokesperson at Blankenburg is an Indian Guyanese woman.
In the absence of an official explanation, I feel free to conclude that the decision to veto was based on racial and political discrimination. In the cases of West Berbice and Blankenburg I can even claim that there was gender discrimination.
I say all of this because if the government had acted on any acceptable ground, it would have told the public. These rulers who have Marxism-Leninism written all over their cloaks do not accept that ‘every cook must learn to govern.’
The President, however, has the power of veto – any bill coming to him from the National Assembly, and of bills only. We seem to be developing, not for the first time, a new unwritten and secret administrative code.
Their refusal to explain their official action is also yet another example of the arrogance and disrespect that is their hallmark.
I strongly disagree with those who claim that there cannot be an elected dictatorship. We know a dictatorship mainly by its behaviour, not by how it achieved office.
I have noted that an IMF official, Mr Rizavi, has credited the Guyanese authorities with being able to maintain macroeconomic stability. He must have come from an older school than mine, but this is not a comment on his helpful statements.
I trust that the public will realise that the government could have explained its veto if its veto had been proper or for good reason. I hope too that the government through its back door, the talkative GINA perhaps, will confound all that I have said on this matter, by finally making a transparent statement on its veto, showing the roles of Go Invest and of the silent minister whose life partner works in the main financial oversight agency.
I trust too that the groups concerned will protest directly and in writing to the European representatives in Guyana.
Misleading the nation about tax laws and their application, railing at a senior member of the business community in public for representing his class, denying the year’s subvention to Critch-low Labour College on partisan grounds, failing to prosecute an employer in the interest of a defenceless woman employee, are offences before us for some time. Failure to give reasons for a highhanded veto of 39 micro projects for people willing to produce, and failure to answer a reader’s question whether or not the financial favourites blundered in the way VAT was administered are only some of the recent examples of how ruthless an elected government can be.
I hope soon to seek, for the benefit of the public and for my own benefit, some modern economic instruction from the IMF representative.
Yours faithfully,
Eusi Kwayana
to Date SN has not done an investigative report on this apparent act of arrogance by the Government . Maybe We the Citizens should call on Mr Christopher Ram to give us a better idea as to the real reason…
I endorse the comments of Eusi and I ask SN to follow up in the interest of the people
Eusi keep up the heat on this dictatorship!
Let the mighty computer or pen bring things to light.
Expose this regime to the fullest extent.
Se battre contre!!!!
Over the past two weeks I asked on this forum – what the PNC and AFC are doing about this issue. The public needs to hear from them and also from the applicants for this funding.
Again, why the muted posture by the political opposition.
And, Mr. Roger Luncheon should let the public know what is the ‘ difference ‘ between the administration and the parties applying for the micro financing; let the public know, since, finally it is the public that will be repaying the debts.
Why the silence surrounding this issue by all the parties concerned.
Maybe, the European agency dealing with this issue, can let the public know the reason for these micro projects being stalled.
I think it is a shame that the government is keeping such potential from poor people. Keeping people in poverty is a sin, and karma will come back to haunt them, many of who were pretty poor before they got access to the coffers of Guyana. Unfortunately, they do not remember the days of living in bottom houses and having small amounts of money to their name, now they are behaving like they were always rich.
I have no respect for those who live off the sweat of the poor. As Dr. Jagan said Guyana is full of Petty Bourgeois when the PNC was in power, now he could have said the same for his counterparts in the goverment.
It is best to let the EU fund these 39 micro projects and then there may be more people employed.
Why? Because they are not PPP supporters.
SO, by just looking at a person “Irreverend” can tell us who they voted for?
You can’t tell with perfect certainty who they voted for just by looking. But you can have a fair indication by their race.
SO who did Roger Luncheon voted for?
Who did Winston Murray voted for?
Who did the Chinese around the corner voted for?
Who did the mixed population voted for?
Who did the white people in Guyana voted for?
Trying to fit people into a voting pattern because of their race can never be proven as the results is not produced on a race base.
The PNC shouting racial voting is just so that they do not have to bother to explain to their supporters why they are loosing election. This is the same as the PNC being kicked out of Government in 1992.
Even though the economy was shattered, there was evidence of rigged voting in the past, etc, there were still 128,000 people who STILL voted for the PNC. WHY?