The Uncooperative Republic of Guyana
Getting back on Track – By Roy Paul
Kaieteur News
February 17, 2007
In a few days we will be celebrating the 37th anniversary of our Republic status, that is, of our complete independence as a nation and a people. This makes it an opportune time for us to take stock of how each of us has been contributing to the advancement of this nationhood, and adjust our thinking and actions towards this objective.
A few weeks ago I was moved to comment on the habit of us Guyanese in acting true to form, even when the measures being taken by the government are intended towards some benefit for the country as a whole and in the long run, in supporting or opposing some project, with no other apparent consideration than whether we are among the supporters or opposers of the present administration, or to which of the two main races we belong.
In the recent introduction of the Value-Added Tax which, by all reason and experience in other countries, should result in a decrease in the amount of money the average household will expend on their normal necessities, this has been no less pronounced.
Walk among East Indians, who are for the most part supporters of the government, and you are almost certain to hear some praise for the efforts of the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Finance Minister and the government as a whole for this measure. On the other hand, you only need to mingle with Afro-Guyanese, who are for the large part in the Opposition, and you are sure to be apprised of all the possible criticisms of what the government is doing in this project, and to hear of all that they could have and should have been doing differently.
It is true that there has been vast confusion stemming from what may have been the lack of preparedness on the part of the tax office in the manner in which this tax has been introduced. This has been further compounded by obvious duplicity by unscrupulous businessmen, who have taken advantage of this muddle to maximise their profits.
But I feel confident that when the dust settles in the next few months we shall all benefit from this adjustment of the tax regime, which promises further relief in the future.
It is a sad state of affairs, and one that will by all appearances continue ad infinitum.
Our people are not projecting this independence into their thought processes, and are controlled by the prejudices which they continue to allow to influence their reasoning about any situation.
This means that our struggling country is perpetually locked into a mode in which about 50% of the population will forever be working towards the programmes of the government, effectively making use of only one half of our human resource capabilities, for what that will be worth, while the other half will be engaged in doing its utmost in negating what is being attempted, further hampering national progress.
Are we forever doomed to this crab-barrel mentality? Can we not see that the developed countries have reached their superior positions by acting like civilised human beings and applying restraint to their actions when the opposite would lessen the common effort in such a manner that the country and people would become poorer? If we have a PNC government at any one time, do we, or can we, expect any other type of behaviour from the other side of the political spectrum?
I am convinced that, despite the continuous errors being made by the present administration, the government has been making sincere efforts to introduce policies which would benefit all sectors of the nation. However, this government cannot claim to be perfect, and no one has a right to expect it to be. Moreover, we are not a metropolitan country where the infrastructure and administrative machinery is as perfect as it can be. We are not in a highly-developed society where the majority of citizens are literate and experienced. We are not in a country where the political system is stable and fully evolved.
What any government does is clearly within its competence, and all of us as citizens have the obligation to cooperate in the nationally-established programmes, more so in times of national disasters or when some new measure is being adopted.
Opposition elements must clearly understand that their role in the whole situation is generally to keep the government on the right track and within the bounds of accountability, as are their normal functions, and definitely not to impede the efforts of the administration, as we will all be poorer for it.
The Opposition, and all the agencies which are affiliated to it, has to use its position to get the best out of the system, opposing constructively what they perceive to be against the general good, but likewise supporting what is being done to help our people. They need to remember that the time will come when they will be controlling the reins of government. Would they be willing to accept an opposition at that time which will be forever trying to destroy what they are striving to build?
Our claim to independence and republican status must be accompanied by maturity, responsibility and, yes, the cooperative spirit to place the interest of the nation above all else. Only when we are all prepared to act accordingly will we be able to assert the right to celebrate this coming occasion as one which we all deserve.