Dear Editor,
I must part company with His Excellency President Granger on this pay issue. I hope that there will be very few instances in the future when I am compelled to do similarly.
I beg to differ respectfully that the pay raise is an investment in quality governance. In my eyes, when the president ties money to quality governance his own prestige and standing takes a hit. Now I will not regurgitate anything about sacrifice, public service, and the highest ideals of patriotism. Enough has been written about those, none of which can be taken to the bank. I did think that I was communicating with likeminded servants and visionaries.
Now I will say this: If a pay raise represents an investment in quality governance, then the inference is that without such an increase, quality governance would suffer; that there is a direct correlation of money to quality performance; that the men and women involved would not be able to deliver without such an incentive; and that money is the supreme essence. In other words, it is everything.
Think of this: if lesser pay translates to lesser quality then, in the first and last analysis, lesser pay equates arguably to a lesser calibre of participating people; and the commensurate inarguable decline in commitment, performance and standards.
Think further: there was pay oozing out of the ears and nostrils of the men at the helm of GuySuCo and the GPL, and what did this nation get in terms of quality leadership, quality corporate governance?
Editor, think even further: when our forces are asked to uphold and defend our integrity before all challengers, through giving an arm and a leg (or more, including the ultimate), their dedication to outstanding quality (holding the line) is not predicated on equivalent monetary rewards. Who could pay them, and what amount would be meaningful? But there they are, ready to give of life and limb.
Having said all of this, I submit that if this is the kind of men and women who are attracted to serve this country, (where the nexus of gold and governance is paramount) then this speaks for itself, and no comment from concerned citizens, self-included, is going to make a difference. If money is a prime motivator, and which is now undeniable, then it is time for me to retreat.
This is my last word on this pay issue.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
