Dear Editor,
The decentralization of various services to rural areas in Guyana was done in order for citizens to access the same service offered in an urban area, so as to avoid persons having to travel to the city. However, over time these same decentralized services became more or less diluted in their quality, while many others, like the Passport Office in Georgetown, only offer their services in the city. But this idea clearly did not work. Just visit a rural post office and a city one. Do the same transaction at each, like posting a parcel, and you will note the difference in the service. Rural post offices have specified days for posting parcels; city offices do not. And I can go on and on.
Mashramani, too, became decentralized a few years ago when Berbice, or New Amsterdam, played host to the ‘Mash Last-Lap Tramp,’ on the closest Sunday after the national festivities and parades in the city. But with every passing year, the activities in New Amsterdam become more low key and uninteresting, to say the least. This year, just about four or five floats participated out of the dozens which participated in Georgetown. Cost and time, among other factors, are the major reasons for organizers not being able to make their presence felt in New Amsterdam and to deliver the same thrill to the crowds as they did in Georgetown.
Is decentralizing Mashramani the right way to go? Look at the United States, which has one celebration and parade, be it Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the St Patrick’s Day parade, among others. Not too far from us here in Guyana, our Caribbean neighbours like Trinidad all have their Carnival parades on the same day throughout the country.
Lesser floats have been participating in the Berbice Mash, but it should be noted that the crowds get bigger each year. So, what we really have is a mass influx of people on Main Street, curious onlookers, families, children and visitors being treated to a second-hand, left-over activity. Berbicians, is that fair? For forty years, we have been treated to a Mash which has been marred by heavy alcohol use and an entire town centre littered with filthy, stinking garbage and broken bottles the next morning.
How do our alcohol breweries and distributors in Guyana live with themselves by knowing how many lives they continue to destroy every day in this country? They are the biggest profit makers at these kinds of events. Will Berbicians and Guyanese ever see the light?
Decentralization has failed in Guyana’s context. The attempt to provide the same quality service to other outlying areas has been tainted with mediocrity and has failed to create that thrust that drives economic development. The sooner Guyanese face facts, the better it will be. Whether they like it or not, they still have to go to Georgetown to access certain services. In the next forty years, also, Georgetown will also hold the best Mash parades in the country.
Yours faithfully,
Leon J. Suseran
