Dear Editor,
The more I see the level of incompetence permeating all levels of our society, the more convinced I become that we can never get anywhere. We keep blaming the politicians and the government for our ingrained illiteracy on certain matters, but are the government holding us back or are we the people by accepting all sorts of nonsensical excuses, holding ourselves back?
I refer to a letter in SN on December 24, captioned ‘Vieira’s letter contained inaccuracies on Private Sector Commission’ by Elizabeth Alleyne, Executive Director, Private Sector Commission (PSC).
My letter was trying to establish my impression that the PSC is not functioning as a non-governmental body; it functions as if it were a part of the government, on numerous occasions actually making excuses for the government. A good example was a recent letter from Clinton Urling making excuses for Robert Persaud and Bharrat Jagdeo in allowing the surveying of the very contentious New River Triangle area. A better example was the behaviour just before the 2011 elections of then Chairman of the PSC Ramesh Dookhoo who was very much in the news, and no one could misinterpret who he and therefore the PSC were supporting.
The PSC in this country rarely, if ever, contradicts or confronts the government even when faced with an abundance of evidence that what the PPP is doing is just not right ‒ no freedom of speech, ridiculous Broadcast Bill and Authority, massive corruption everywhere, persecution of the local media, etc.
From what I read, this is the feeling of the opposition as well, who represent the majority of Guyanese in Parliament, and I still maintain that were I to have a problem with the government, as a private businessman, I would consider it a waste of time approaching this politicised PSC. And I am not just anyone, I am a man whose business was butchered by Mr Jagdeo and the PPP for my political beliefs. Not only did he violate some of the provisions of the Treaty of Chapúltepec which he himself signed in 2004, he violated the covenant of civil and political rights Guyana signed in 1976, guaranteeing certain fundamental freedoms including freedom of speech.
The political pressure brought to bear on me was so great that I had to sell my business which had become profitless due to the denial of the lucrative activities of my company, such as the lotto draw and Trinity Broadcasting. My advertisers were coerced and threatened not to advertise on my station or their goods would be held up at customs for an indeterminate period, since I was labelled anti-government. There was no one to whom I could turn, including the then opposition or this useless PSC.
This is the reality of our Guyana and this PSC continues to function as a pro-government body. At the very end of her letter Ms Alleyne tells us “that in the event that Mr Vieira’s information was gleaned from an outdated PSC website, we would like to assure the public that the website is in the process of being updated.”
Editor, can this be possible? That they had up on the internet an outdated website and are now blaming me for quoting from it? And today when I went to the website it’s closed. But last week when I looked, it was open so now the public is denied the opportunity of seeing who the corporate members of the PSC are, after we have been told in Ms Alleyne’s letter that there are members and organisations which did not appear on the website when I researched it. She then outlines what on paper is how the PSC is required to function. I seriously question whether that is how the PSC functions today! Do any of the 17 organisations listed have the necessary gumption to tell us, if, in fact, is how the PSC functions, i.e. that every matter which concerns a vote by the PSC’s council is considered by the council which is supposed to meet once a month. Are they in fact meeting? And do they actually get to express their opinions and physically vote?
And electronic consultations by email as outlined in her letter are fraught with many problems. It can lead to ‘miscounting’ on any matter, and if this body is to pronounce on national issues, I would prefer that they assemble formally and show their hands as supporting or not any matter before the commission. That way we will know for sure that the PSC has not been hijacked by a few for political purposes, and we can have more confidence in it.
This is the electronic age so Ms Alleyne should get with the programme and keep the website up to date and accurate for the media and other researchers such as myself. How is anyone to know that you are maintaining an obsolete website and we must not use it? If it’s obsolete remove it from the internet. And could you please tell us what is wrong with my list of subcommittees and their chairmen? Since except for Eddie Boyer (who is the chairman of the building subcommittee which was not listed on the now mystic website of the PSC, because it seems to be a new subcommittee ‒ a fact which is hardly likely to make me change my perception of the PSC), all the other subcommittees and their chairmen are exactly as I outlined them as being on your website.
The fundamental question still remains: the PSC functions more like an arm of the government rather than a non-governmental one diligently fighting for the rights of the private sector. For example, the government’s policy regarding the unfair competition of the Regent, Robb Street and other merchants, begs for a full examination as to why the Guyanese businessman is being replaced by non-Guyanese Chinese businessmen, because of the fact that Chinese businesses are charging less for the same items and treat their workers ‒ our fellow Guyanese ‒ badly. Can someone explain to me how this can be possible? That the Chinese businesses are selling cheaper than anyone else? And is it true that a Chinese can become a Guyanese far more quickly than, say, a Brazilian?
Yours faithfully,
Tony Vieira
