Society so corrupted that in many areas things don’t happen unless you pay a ‘small piece’

Dear Editor,

It is now abundantly clear to me that the phrase ‘Something is rotten in the State of Denmark,’ taken from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, unhappily, now applies to my beloved country Guyana.

On a daily basis, citizens call or come to see me. They are of all ages and groups.

They call on me, hoping I can help to untangle the bureaucratic knots, which seem to characterize many of our Government and Corporate Agencies.

From the Engineer’s Department of the Municipality, the Registry, GPL, GTT, CH&PA and some Post Offices, where occasionally they run out of funds to pay pensioners and vouchers.

A few weeks ago, at one of the above offices, the Officer-in-Charge, in the presence of my assistant, asked if I had given the Officer dealing with a matter, anything. This spoke volumes.

Of course, the slothfulness of some aspects of our judicial system is now taken for granted.

I have been involved in the public sector since the mid- 1950’s. I became General Secretary of the People’s National Congress in 1962 and from 1968, functioned in senior positions for two generations.

It appears to me that our society as from the closing years of the 20th century has become so corrupted that in many areas, things don’t happen unless some bureaucrat receives a ‘small piece.’

This sad, sorry, situation requires surgery by President Granger himself.

Some bureaucrats are giving this Government a bad name and if I may borrow a phrase from one of our enduring earlier Ministers and super-patriot, Sydney King, in 1953 ‘this confounded nonsense must stop.’

People should not have to wait months to have their plans processed at City Hall, wait for months to obtain a meter from GPL, turn up at a Post Office and be told that there is no money; I witnessed this first hand last Wednesday at a Post Office.

I heard the teller inform the lady who was standing in the line ahead of me at 11:02 a.m. on Wednesday November 13, 2019, that there was no money.

Some days I feel a sense of frustration. People who know me are aware that I am not easily frustrated. But when calls to very high officials are not returned and you have difficulty communicating with senior people, it is very frustrating.

I know we have the Ombudsman but the number of complaints I have received at my home and the television programme, ‘Voice of the People,’ suggest that the President may wish to consider setting up some Council of Youth and Elders to pursue hour by hour, day by day, legitimate complaints.

May I say this, there are still some Agencies and Departments, that provide prompt and courteous services.

In an earlier correspondence, I mentioned some of those Agencies that perform with excellence, such as the Immigration Department among others.

The Head of State must not be burdened with those who believe that their ugly way is the right way.

Yours faithfully, Hamilton Green President Chairman