Dear Editor,
The airwaves have been crackling with praise for president and PPP government in the handling of the massive flood of 2021. Some quick thoughts follow. I think that some of the praise is due, and should be expressed publicly, which has been done. On the other hand, I sense that some of the praise is overblown, especially in the letter columns, and substitute for job interviews by persons seeking to be recognized for their runaway verbal enthusiasms. It is as if some are going overboard to find favor with political masters, without regard to how overwrought (and cringe-inducing they sound). I agree that much has been done, and for which deserving encomia are in order, but the reserve of self-respect should return.
Editor, when we have a national disaster, which clearly was such by any measurement, then there was/is opportunity to marshal a national response, for more efficient results. Because if we refuse to engage at such a devastating national hour, then absolutely nothing will motivate us to put heads together in other imperiling situations. I think we court a manmade political disaster, which is where I will pause. But amidst all the ecstasies of a job well done, and who was where and everywhere, and how much money and man hours were spent, I don’t hear nothing about tomorrow. Or the next rainy season. Or how to resolve definitively bigger or lesser flooding conditions. I would assert that the time and energies of the head of state and other political presences would have been better spent preparing for the future (and addressing those situations -tomorrow and next season) with what it takes to avoid repeating what we have just experienced. How to minimize? Who to engage? Where to start? Aside from a round of helpful visits, more for purposes of psychological strengthening and leading from the front, I think that the public servants had to be allowed to deploy their contingencies plans, pull their weight, show their wares, and deliver timely, comprehensively, and acceptably.
When there are too much of politicians and politics, things get tangled. Good intentions deplete after a time. I would hope that partisans already rearing up and gnashing their teeth have the depth of sense to discern where I am going. Let the professionals do their job. Let the political people develop their visions and plan their programs as both relate to flooding. The last thing we would want is to revisit, on any scale, what happened last week and last month across Guyana. So far, I hear of this and that, and the usual utterances of political operators, and the choir of celebrants. Do we have the expertise and skills to confront another large-scale flood, now almost routine? I don’t think so. So, why is there no talk about the Dutch? No whisper in the blabber about the long-term and big picture? No conversation, amidst the chatter, about making a start to put an end to what was just endured?
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
