Impressed with Professor Thomas but we still differ on cash transfer

Dear Editor,

At the `A Conversation with Guyana’ conference presented by the `Women of Queen’s College & Friends’ at the Pegasus Hotel, the conversation was spirited, honest and forthright. Professor Clive Thomas set the tone for the conversation and stole the show with his openness and frank discussion. He didn’t hold back his thoughts, opinions and ideas on the issues that were near and dear to him.

From the outset and like a boxer, he came out punching and using fighting words like “ignoramus” to describe some of the country leaders. Needless to say, I was shocked, surprised and encouraged by his comments. Guyanese doesn’t usually speak honestly and directly. We prefer to be politically correct. The respected and honourable professor wasn’t going to be politically correct on this said night. He wasn’t going to be nice by towing the party line. He was willing to call a spade a spade.

Editor, in this society, I have never heard and never imagined that a man of the professor’s calibre would be willing to be so brutally honest and transparent at a public meeting. I was quite happy and pleased with him making it a real and honest conversation and not a superficial one.

However, I only wish that he was given more time to speak on the panel. I wanted to hear from him more. It’s not often that I hear a person speak from the heart as he was doing. It made me feel a deep connection to the professor, and have a greater understanding and respect for him.

My heart longed for more discussions, conversations and interactions like we had. Plain spoken. Telling the truth. No superficiality. Telling it like it is. I thank the organizers for a great evening and conversation.

I left the meeting wanting more of these conversations. I want more, and I want it quarterly. I want more of these conversations with people who don’t always agree with each other but remain friends. Honest and forthright conversation is a sign of a mature society.

So often I find people who don’t want to hear opposing views. The professor didn’t mind my disagreeing with him. He respected my views and I respected his. I need to see this more in our country.

Editor, I believe the professor wants the “Cash Transfer” to the poor to be one of his legacies, and he is willing to do anything and by any means necessary to make it happen. Professor Thomas strongly cares about the poorest of the poor and that is why he is so adamant about seeing the poor get their share of the oil money.

At the meeting, Professor Thomas said in no uncertain terms that those who get their hands on the oil money will “thief it,” whether politicians or the private sector. And this is why I believe that the professor is fighting to get some of the money into the hands of the poor and powerless. He doesn’t want the less fortunate ending up with nothing.

Editor, while I agree with him that those who get their hands on the money will thief it, I don’t think it justifies giving the poor free money. From my experience growing up, I witnessed how my family behaved when we received large sums of money.

My father used it to buy more alcohol, which led him being more drunk, which led to him being more physically and verbally abusive to us. For my family, a large sum of money was a blessing and curse.

Free money hurts the poor more than helps them. The free money will only help the poor temporarily but will hurt them more in the long-run. Free money will take away their pride, capacity to want to work hard and it will make them lazy and not willing to work.

Instead of giving the poor cash directly, I recommend the government use the money to subsidise electricity, provide free public transportation to school children and provide three meals a day at school to each poor child.

In short, Editor, I’m advocating for the cash transfer to go to the children and not to the parents by funding the school feeding programmes and public transportation. I’m against giving the money to the parents because they’ll squander it.

I want to thank the professor for respectfully disagreeing with me. It’s not many people who disagree about a certain issue and still not hold any hard feelings.

Editor, I would like to ask the professor if he’s willing to support the free meals programme in schools, free public transportation and subsidised electricity for the poor rather than giving them the money directly. Yours faithfully, Anthony Pantlitz