Dear Editor,
We have found ourselves in a predicament as a people. We have nurtured political leaders who are satisfied to live and lead from their lower-self. As I picked up the Guyana Chronicle newspapers on 25 June, 2019 and saw a photograph of President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on the front page, I could not help but ponder on how unfortunate the Guyanese people are; that our leaders can be civil when they want to but yet lead this country in such divisive ways, even to its destruction.
I believe that our leaders are involved in gamesmanship. This is a game for them. The game is to tell the people what they want to hear and when you get into office, you don’t even have to try to deliver on any of your promises or strive for good governance because they have no respect for the people they are supposed to serve and lead. Our leaders are very disrespectful to the people of this country and they obviously do not feel that the Guyanese people deserve more or the best of them. Or if what we get is their best, then we are in trouble. We deserve more, we deserve better.
When the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) was in Government, they blatantly disregarded systems, laws, rules and rampant corruption and instead of addressing it, the PPP administration asked for evidence. This APNU+AFC government apparently wants to show the PPP how ‘badness’ is done. There is callous disregard again, for systems, laws and corruption is very rampant. The difference this time though, is that it is done by some of those from the PPP administration era and those from the APNU+PPP government. How do we know all of this? Someone once said that ‘there is no honour among thieves’.
I saw a former PPP Minister a few months ago and he said to me ‘you were one who was calling for change, you get exchange now…’. I was so ashamed because indeed, I wanted change, I advocated for change, I fought for change; I resent corruption and what it does to a country and to the people of a country. What it does to those who are involved in the corruption, what they become and those who could have benefitted more if the country’s resources were being filtered down to them. This is the reason I find it hard to shut up. This is not the Guyana we fought for! This is not the change we fought for!
My challenge with the APNU+AFC Coalition Government is that they are normalising corruption. A Minister or head of agency is involved in corruption and instead of the Government demoting them or putting them on the back burner, they get promoted or reshuffled. The corruption is moved higher or to another agency.
Minister George Norton was reported as being involved in a questionable deal with the medical bond and he is now in charge of the youth ministry. He is the role model for our young people. Minister Valarie Patterson’s husband was contracted by the Ministry she was working with and she was moved to another ministry but yet citizens of this country are taken to court, charged and imprisoned every day for matters which are in contradiction to the law but in many cases much less serious.
Four years later, there is a likelihood that the very same PPP could become the government or the APNU+AFC Coalition could return to govern the country and what will be different? I would like to know.
One of my main concerns is that Guyana is about to become one of the richest countries in this hemisphere and if corruption is rampant and unrestrained when we were the second poorest country in the hemisphere, I shudder to think what will happen when the oil money starts to come in.
If our governments are reckless and disrespectful to the people they lead even though a significant amount of the country’s income comes from taxes, it is chilling to think how our governments will treat us when they do not have to depend on our taxes to run the country.
My question to the Leader of the Opposition is: If the PPP should get back into government, what will they do differently? How can we be assured that if it was not done four years ago and no significant changes were made for e.g. in policy, philosophy, behaviour, etc. over the past four years, that the party will overnight govern differently?
My question to the APNU+AFC government is: If they get back into government, what will they do differently? If the government has not addressed the corruption that is so pervasive now, how will it address it if elected again? If they do not listen now and take good advice, how do we know that they will then? No one wants leaders who will not listen to them.
Our leaders need to first of all respect themselves, desire to govern as decent people.
We will soon go back to the polls and what has changed? What will change?
Righteousness exalted a nation. Martin Carter said ‘all are involved, all are consumed’. We must not stay quiet about the wrongs in our government and society anymore, while the corrupt people get richer and the poor get poorer, particularly when the wealth comes from the state.
I continue to advocate for shared governance at least for the next three years.
This is my line in the sand on corruption in our governments and poor leadership.
Yours faithfully,
Audreyanna Thomas
