Dear Editor,
The recent failed budget that was passed by the APNU+AFC coalition is another disaster for our nation. This budget doesn’t increase the salaries of the public and private sector employees that was promised by this government. They said in their manifesto that they will raise the salaries of workers by 20%, but unfortunately they raised their own salaries by 50% and they are exempted from taxes. They said they are the change, but what are we changed from? It seems to me that we are changed from bad to worse.
It’s very sad that this new government failed this entire nation with all their fake promises. They failed to create new jobs for our graduates, more and more crime is on the rise, and more and more educated people are fired from their jobs. The closure of the Wales Sugar Estate now and possibly others is imminent and will bring total economic disaster upon our nation. President Granger said: “Sugar is too big to fail,” but his government has continued to fail the people of Guyana not only in sugar but in all other aspects of administration. By not creating jobs and better salaries for our people means there is more and more migration and an empty Guyana by the time we have the next election or selection in 2020. Our Guyanese have become a nomadic people, always on the move.
Our erudite finance Minister Winston Jordon said the VAT is slashed to 14%; that’s a 2% reduction, but we now have to pay VAT on electricity, water and internet bills. This is like digging a hole to fill a hole. I wonder if he really knows what he is doing, or is he just guessing his way in economics and mathematics; his figures for the budget are dismal and ridiculous. He also claims that not many people are paying over $10,000 on GPL bills, so those who pay under $10,000 will not pay VAT. That is not true; every day our citizens flock all the GPL offices like flies around a night light to query their exorbitant GPL bills that amount in the thousands.
What makes it worse is the constant number of long blackouts we are faced with, yet GPL never reduces their light bills on consumers or refunds them money on their bills. So why must we pay VAT on GPL bills for a service we are not getting? Last Wednesday night I went to church and suddenly a blackout came that lasted for 7 hours. Only six people out of sixty came to church because of the blackout. I couldn’t see to start my generator so we just prayed and went back home. GPL has been a complete embarrassment and in this day and age why are we still in blackouts? Something is definitely wrong with our past and present administrations, when after 50 years of independence we are still living in darkness.
Now I come to the GWI: we just get water for a few hours and it’s unfit for drinking ‒ even washing. It’s filled with green substances and other elements that makes it no good for human consumption. Besides that, the water pressure can’t fill a bucket a foot high so we have to pump it into black tanks. Thus we pay a double bill, one for GWI and one for electricity for pumping. The water is gone in just a few hours, so those who work early cannot return at 7 pm to get water for a bath. So why pay taxes on water we don’t get twenty-four hours a day? When there is a blackout we don’t get water because it works with electricity. How sweet!
The internet service offered by GTT is the slowest and worst in the entire Caribbean. Now GTT is asking for money for the phone they used to give customers for free when it was not working any more. When you call them for a service they always answer by voice mail and take months to come. They are never efficient about fixing your phone lines and internet problems, but efficient in sending you an invoice for payment. So why pay VAT on the internet bills when it’s very inefficient?
This new budget with all its taxation will kill the poor man; also the rich will be forced to raise the prices of their commodities in their stores. If this APNU+AFC coalition stated in their manifesto and in their campaign that they can do better than the former government, then they need to deliver it to our Guyanese people. They themselves ought to pay taxes because real leadership is leading others by example. I interrogate our level of democracy; are we a democratic nation or a socialist state where all our earnings and resources go back to the state just like Cuba? It’s time the voice of our people be heard and a new vision of young brilliant minds lead this nation in the next elections.
Yours faithfully,
Rev Gideon Cecil
