The year has just started but from appearances it is a continuation of the year just past. In the first nine days of the year there have been three road fatalities and five fires. Two people have already died in the fires. Four homes have been destroyed. Drunk driving continues; so too is speeding. For years, just about everyone expected a change in the new year. It did not take long for people’s expectations to change this year.
Also, what is continuing apace is the rate of infrastructure construction. Each day dozens of trucks can be seen traversing the roadways with sand and stone. The materials are for more than road construction. Buildings are also going up. On Monday, the government announced a 12-storey building to house the police headquarters. This building is going up where the historic Brickdam Police Station once stood. That old building went up in flames when, according to reports, a prisoner lit a piece of sponge, poked it through a hole in his cell and started a fire in an upper flat.
The man was in custody. In fact, he should still be, but this matter is not being tried. It is either someone knows the fallacy of the charge or that the state could not be worried anymore. But with that being said, there have been many victims of that fire. A man broke into my car, stole my laptop with eternal hard drives, passport and other documents. The statements were with the Brickdam police. At the same time the man was already in court for robbing a policeman at knifepoint.
The car breakage is done and dusted. It went up in flames but no one knows about the other charges that this man faced.
In the midst of my depression the news came that Guyana would soon have its tallest building, a 12-storey edifice. Not even the Marriott, or Bank of Guyana or the Ramada Princess is twelve stories tall. The country awaits this masterpiece. It will be a tourist attraction in the same way some people travel to see the skyscrapers of New York. The police would be able to stand on the roof and oversee the city. They should be able to witness crimes in the vicinity with their binoculars.
Given the height of the building one can expect a bank of elevators, standby generators in the event of blackouts that would cause the elevators to stall, and all the modern features that would go with a 12-storey building.
The old Brickdam Station once had an alarm that went off every Friday. That too is gone. Perhaps it would be brought back.
And while the pace of construction races along, there is nothing to be said about the Mahdia dormitory destruction that claimed 20 young lives. A young woman was charged with 20 counts of murder. She did make two court appearances. Then quite extraordinarily, there was a commission of inquiry into the same dormitory fire. Evidence that would have to be presented in the courts was presented at the inquiry. The society had a fair knowledge of whom should have appeared before the commission. Yet these people were not called to explain their roles.
There was word that the commission had reached a conclusion. The report should be with President Irfaan Ali or his designate. It surely has not been made known. And that commission ended three months ago. There is another inquiry, this time into the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of five senior members of the Guyana Defence Force. There was a national outpouring of grief. A new stretch of roadway was dedicated to these men who have been described as fallen heroes.
Again, there has been total silence. It is hoped that the commission report is not left to gather dust like so any others.
There was a comprehensive report into the shooting of the five Enmore Martyrs in 1948. That report was compiled within four months. It made for interesting reading. It detailed the movement of the sugar workers and the irregular action of the police. That was way back in 1948—seventy-five years ago. Perhaps commission reports these days are not for public eyes. Those are not the only things that are hidden from public eyes. There was a time when the government would invite the media to provide information on the budget. This was often after discussions with the various agencies including the private sector bodies.
Today, budgets are government affairs. The opposition is not consulted or contacted. The media are not briefed, and press conferences are not held. In fact, press conferences are a rarity except when Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo is on the attack each week. President Irfaan Ali has not held many. There were post-Cabinet press conferences in the past. These continued during the tenure of the coalition.
They are now things of the past. The media must hope to get leaks or to catch some official on the side after a function.
We see that the 2024 Budget would be presented on Monday. With that news being released, look out for prices to rise in the marketplace. A man was complaining how the price of his cigarettes has been creeping up almost every month in recent times. He is not sure if tax measures are quietly at work. All he knows is that he is paying more for so many other things.
Rice costs more and the budget has not yet been released. There was a letter in Tuesday’s newspapers disputing the rise in sugar prices. That will not stop the merchants from demanding their pound of flesh from the already pressed consumer. The prices have gone up and in the absence of price controls nothing will bring them down, except people begin to be more conscious of their spending and refusing to buy when they do not have to.
There is another thing. Sittings of Parliament are no longer held at Public Buildings. That stopped when COVID descended on Guyana. The sittings have gone the way of COVID. In the past, loud speakers were placed outside Public Buildings to broadcast the proceedings. If people are really interested these days, they must travel to the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. But there will be no loud speakers there. Of course, sittings at the conference centre have negated the use for the barricades around Public Buildings. That was a traffic nightmare. The ordinary man, however, seems not to care where sittings are held these days. He believes that there is nothing for him so his lack of interest.
