Dear Editor,
With the close of 2008, the year President Jagdeo had promised social and economic advancement, Guyanese must begin to analyze their current status to ascertain whether or not these promises were met. Are we better off economically than we were five years ago? Has Dr Jagan’s, 1992 promise of a livable wage, which leaves parents with, as he put it, money for sweets for the children, been realized after 16 years of the PPP/C in office? Clearly, 2008 has been a dismal and heart-breaking year for all of us; we each suffered our own personal misgivings, and collectively we shared catastrophic grief, endured severe economic hardship and witnessed some unfortunate executive actions and behaviour. So what will President Jagdeo tell Guyanese in his Christmas and New Year messages? What can he say to reassure us that 2009 will be a year where decisive actions and decisions will be taken to improve general socio-economic conditions. How will the President convince Guyanese that his government is determined to improve the crime and security situation which reached unprecedented levels in 2008 and puts every Guyanese at risk.
In addition to telling us what he and his government intend to do to make us feel safe in 2009, Guyanese must also be given a clear message that the government is serious in dealing with complaints of torture, and will protect the human rights of citizens. At least the President can deliver on his promise to lay the torture report in the public domain. To close the year without doing so will further convince Guyanese that the government is bent on playing politics with our human rights.
On the issue of bread and butter, the President must provide specific policy details about how he and his administration intend to ease the economic burden on the people in the new year. Good governance requires that citizens be apprised of how the billions of their tax-paying dollars from VAT will contribute to their economic advancement. In addition the President must also tell Guyanese how his government intends to create jobs in the country, especially for the youths. In the 1992 elections campaign the PPP/C promised to create one hundred thousand jobs (100,000) within their first term. The President should advise Guyanese as to what the status of this laudable promise is.
For those of us who continue to suffer in flood after flood, the President must tell us what steps will be taken to reduce our flood ‘stress’ every time the rain pours. The excuse cannot simply be that it’s an act of God. Guyana has its rainy seasons and for decades now we have experienced horrendous downpours but never the kind of flooding we see today. So the question of proper drainage and irrigation must be raised: have we repaired all breaches and the common wear and tear likely to occur at kokers, sluices, etc? What about the reports of the 2005 flooding, what was accomplished after these reports?
If the President had regular press briefings where he accounted for his stewardship and the performance of his government, his holiday messages would not need to be taken up by these crucial issues.
Let us pledge that in the new year we will be more involved in the work of those who are in charge of our affairs. The government’s policies and programmes affect our lives and those of our children; we pay our taxes so we must have a say in how these monies are spent. Let us re-intensify our efforts to be more responsible citizens as the new year dawns; governments are accountable to us and not the other way around.
Have a merry Christmas and a fulfilling New Year!
Yours faithfully,
Lurlene Nestor
