Dear Editor,
The year 2012 has so far turned out to be rather ominous as a result of (a) the Greene Affair and (b) the 2012 Budget, and all that it entails.
The above have made such an impact on our minds, that other issues seemed to have passed unnoticed, I therefore wish to bring those issues, (mundane, though they may be), to the attention of our citizens.
a. Electricity and water rates – senior citizens: In a letter published in the Guyana Chronicle of April 18 on page 7, the writer seems not to be acquainted with issues affecting senior citizens. The lady states that senior citizens receive waivers on their water and electricity rates. Senior citizens do not receive any waivers in respect to water and electricity. What transpires is that those who are in receipt of an old age pension from the relevant government ministry, receive a subsidy of about eleven thousand, eight hundred dollars yearly on their water rates. The Guyana Power and Light Incorporated, does not give senior citizens any waivers or subsidies.
b. Respect – Cacique Crown: It is unlikely that one would find in any part of the civilized world, an attempt to sully the image of a National Award, by using it in a derogatory manner. I wish to refer to an advertisement in the Stabroek News of April 23, page 15. A prominent bookstore thought it fit, to adorn the images of a jackass and a lion (?), with the Cacique Crown, in order to promote the sale of legal texts. It was a most distasteful advertisement.
c. Georgetown – A tourist destination? They came, they saw and they left, with the images of a capital city indelibly pasted on their minds. A city strewn with garbage and filth; citizens who relieve themselves in public; a city in which beggars seem to be the majority. They also took with them the evidence of a government and a city council, which together or individually, seem unable to solve the problems of the capital city of Georgetown. A city which will soon be celebrating the two hundredth anniversary of its naming.
d. Collateral damage: Permit me, Editor, to conclude with this bit of advice to those who use the term, ‘collateral damage.’ It would be advisable to view the movie of the same name, and note the results.
Yours faithfully,
C S Vaughn
Major (rtd)
