Come out with a package that benefits struggling, hurting families
A handful of recent issues caught my attention, on which I share a quick thought or two. Two of the issues involved the Vice President, one came from the Guyana Police Force, and another from the Government. The four issues projected the good, the questionable, and the haphazard.
Incredible as this may sound, the two issues that were good came from the Vice President, one with whom I rarely see eye to eye, due to different codes of ethics, and the tongues that have come to characterize the productions of the national leader. The VP is reported by the media (KN May 1) to have said that he doesn’t have to take advice from the IMF, as it deals with debt and not development. I agree to a point. From my perspective, and that of others globally, the IMF is not a friend of Third World societies, so any advice it gives must be rinsed in vinegar; perhaps, some caustic soda, too. Thus, I hear the VP. As an aside, and this may surprise Guyanese, but my regard for the World Bank, though not as harsh, is not as good as I once had for it. Not with some of the things that have occurred in other poor societies under its watch.
The second issue with which I doff my wig (don’t need one) at the VP is on the preemptive move he made with dead people being removed from contentious lists. I think he did an end around the opposition and took away a major board out of its electoral-related complaints and objections. As to how far this sanitizing will go, how well-regarded it would end up being that is another story. On a personal note, I have three very close people who departed this earthly vale overseas. They were all adults with national identity cards, but who left here over 30 years ago. They might still be on some list.
Regarding the Police, I am all for ‘shutting down bars’ that are sources of noise pollutions, devastations; nuisance, they call it, which is a rank understatement. What is going on with noise is not a ‘nuisance’ but a crime, it should be made into a felony. It is why I sometimes applaud the Saudis and Iranians. So, for the Police to say that it will ‘shut down’ (whatever that means) offending establishments after the third report is being generous to the point of a law enforcement crime by itself. Three times is over by two, and questionable as to too much discretion. Shut down these places after the first warning, show the proprietors that this is taken seriously, and serious action will be taken. Because I think these three warnings could be tied up in how many times warned, when, and by whom, and end being a joke; one time, and after that it is the lockdown. One more thing: don’t insult the neighbours and suffering communities by shutting them down for a day and then reopening happening in quick order with the equivalent of a $20 (Guyana) fine, and some silly lecture from a magistrate.
Last, the government announced no VAT on cement, which is a good move. But if the Government really wants to give relief to Guyanese struggling with runaway prices, cease this hopscotch, piecemeal, dumb approach, of a crumb here and another there. Come out with a package that benefits struggling, hurting families. Less VAT on cement means more for contractors, more work for builders, truckers, and labourers. The first three are mainly PPP campers. Yes, households could use the no VAT on cement, but it is time to stop touching the edges, while leaving the centres of what is a price and cost of living crisis for Guyanese from most walks of life. The leaders in government know this, so they must desist from this playing around and pussyfooting with the lives of poor Guyanese in this rich (so they say to me) society. Better could and must be done. Move!
Sincerely, GHK Lall