Consumer Concerns
It was surprising to receive invitations for two functions for Thursday, July 2, on the occasion of the 30th Regular Meeting of the Conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community.
Both functions were scheduled for the evening hours. The first function was scheduled to begin at 17:30h (5.30pm) and the invitees were asked to be seated at 17:00h at the National Cultural Centre (please note it is not the National Culture Centre), while the reception was scheduled for 19:00h (7pm) at Princess Buddy’s Hotel at Providence, East Bank Demerara. To reach Princess Buddy’s Hotel by car would take at least half an hour, and one concluded that invitees were expected to be at the hotel by 19:00h and this would mean that one should leave the National Cultural Centre by 18:30h.
On leaving home I indicated that I would return by 19:00h, but seated at the National Cultural Centre with a programme in my hand, I realized that the event was scheduled to continue until 19:10h. Cellular phones were turned off, but I felt confident that the proceedings at the cultural centre would be broadcast, and therefore there was no need for communications with persons at home.
The organizers of the event at the National Cultural Centre did not cater for long speeches and thus the event continued until 21:00h. On arrival home at 21:30h I learnt of the distress caused by my prolonged absence, with persons not knowing whether to telephone the Brickdam Police Station or the Guyana Public Hospital in case there had been an accident.
There were schoolchildren at the National Cultural Centre, and if their parents had not been informed of the delay in proceedings they would have been anxious about their children’s safety.
It is my hope, as a consumer, that the length of time for proceedings would be more accurately gauged.
The events were cited as a 30th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community. Actually, as we learnt, it should have been the 36th meeting, but no meetings were held for six years at one point.
Now, let us look at it: if for 36 years the heads of government have failed to move forward for unity, such as the European Union has achieved, then what hope is there that we will move forward in a year or two? We may even go back further to 1958 when the Federation of the West Indies was formed. The West Indies and Guyana seem doomed to live apart.
When the federation failed in 1962, Mr CLR James predicted that unity in the region would come through the people. That at one stage seemed possible, as the Caribbean Consumers Committee (CCC) was formed in 1969 and was meeting and encouraging the growth of consumer associations in all territories. The CCC made an impact and was invited to a meeting of the Caricom heads of government. But the CCC came to an end when its president migrated from his homeland without informing other members.
A new Caribbean Consumers Committee has been formed. It held a workshop from June 22 to June 24. The press has not informed us of the results.
From the consumer’s point of view would we not make progress if the task of drafting the procedure for CSME was given to professionals? Mr JP Patterson is accepted by everyone and could head a professional team to prepare the path towards unity.
There is a book Problems Of Parliamentary Government In Colonies which should be read by every politician in the region. It is a report prepared by the Hansard Society on some of the problems involved in developing parliamentary institutions in colonial territories.
In it there is reference to the Swiss government, where a team of professionals is elected by the parliament and the team is the government.
Apology
In the Consumer Concerns column of Sunday, June 21, 2009, captioned ‘NBS is inviting low-income consumers with land to take up mortgages with them,’ I said there had been complaints that, “when opening a mortgage [with the New Building Society] the consumer is advised to take McDoom lawyers as their lawyer. The charge is high and some consumers reported that they could have had legal services free of charge.”
I have been advised by NBS CEO/Director/Secretary Ahmad M Khan, that McDoom and Company is one of two law firms – the other being Cameron & Shepherd – which does the work of the New Building Society, and that the areas for which they are required to do mortgages are clearly set out by the Society. The charges are the same for both firms.
Mr Ahmad also advised me that all banks as well required persons taking mortgages to go to the bank’s lawyers and that the fees were the same as those for McDoom & Company.
I apologize for the errors.
