If I was the President

Dear Editor,

Below are listed some of the decisions that I would make as President of Guyana:

1)            Free up the State Media by privatising Guyana Chronicle and NCN. The President does not need media outlets to make him look good.

2)            Reduce the Presidential wage to minimum wage. This is so that I would understand how citizens survives on minimum wage.

3)            Tackle the flood problem through better drainage and irrigation solutions. This would mean every Region needs its own drainage and irrigation schemes. To use the NDIA as an umbrella organization to tackle flooding in Guyana is fallacious as what is right for Georgetown is not necessarily the solution for Lethem.

4)            Reinstate the Because We Care grants as a prerequisite to instituting Child Benefits.

5)            Introduce Workers Benefit/Credit to give workers a top-up for working (say, $50,000 per worker). Alternatively, introduce Unemployment Benefit…..this would allow the Government to shut down Guysuco which is a drain on Government finances. Guysuco cannot be shut down because it means putting 15,000 people out of work which affects about 50,000 people as the workers have families to feed. With the introduction of Unemployment Benefit this changes the situation.

6)            Create a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) of US$25m to invest in the US, Canadian and UK Stock Markets. This is a high risk strategy but one that is worth considering as the current import/export formula is not perfect.

7)            Create Apprenticeship Programmes for the Electricity, Water and Telephone Companies (3,000 people could potentially be employed through these programmes).

8)            Increase the size of the Armed Forces to over 5,000 personnel.

9)            Reduce Personal Income Tax and Corporation Tax to 25%.

10)          Build Job Centres to end unemployment and underemployment in Guyana.

I am sure other people have their lists but I hope President David Granger will pick some of those points on my list especially 1 and 2.

Yours faithfully,

Sean Ori