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It is true that government systems play a crucial role in shaping the lives of citizens, communities and societies. Whilst governments aim to sustain the common good and maintain social order, there are instances where their actions may be seen as barbaric and insensitive. In this column, we will look at different responses of the government to events and incidents that are downright barbaric and insensitive.
Actions of the PPP/C continue to demonstrate cruelty, inhumanity, and lopsided and discriminatory policies. It dismisses regard for the well-being and views of citizens affected by its decisions. Here are three examples that demonstrates barbarism and insensitivity of the incumbent:
The Mahdia Blaze. On Sunday, May 21, 2023, a massive fire destroyed the female dormitory at Mahdia, in Region 8. This resulted in the death of 20 children and several others suffered serious injuries. In that very month, President Ali announced the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into this unprecedented incident. At this stage, the Opposition indicated that it would like to be part of formulating the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the Commission. Afterall, the Opposition represents more than 40% of the total voting population, and must have an active constitutional and enduring interest in all matters of state.
We are less than five days away from the ending of July, 2023, and the Commission is still to be set up. More than two months after the immolation and the president has casually named the Chairman of the Commission.
Further, there has been no indication from the President that the Opposition will be invited to assist with formulating the TOR of the Commission. As if that was not sufficiently callous the government tossed 5 million dollars to each to parents whose children or children perished in that fire, and 3 million dollars to each parent, whose child suffered injuries as a result of the blaze. That’s not all, the parents were required to sign a document absolving the government from any liability of that inferno. All of that was done before the setting up of the promised COI.
The government, through its Minister of Legal Affairs attempted to hoodwink the nation by announcing that that payout does not represent a final settlement. But if it were so then why require the parents to sign documents absolving the government from any liability? Then the Vice President tried to trick Guyanese by saying that parents, who lost their children in the fire, want help now. So, why not a cash grant pending the findings and recommendations of the COI?
Government has been giving out monies and utilizing the resources of the state for its own political advantage. Huge sums were paid to sugar workers, to some farmers for flood relief, cash grants for children in schools, and billions spent, during the last Local government elections, in June of this year, to flip traditional strongholds of PNC/R and to win constituencies that usually vote for the PNC/R. The government could have easily offered assistance in the form of a grant to those grieving parents. But it could not. Its intention is evil. It wants to be freed from blame for the deaths of precious young lives, even at the risk of appearing highly immoral, barbaric and insensitive.
In any case, when one considers the mental stress, psychological pain, and trauma those parents have been forced to endure, due to no fault of their own. And when one considers the value and contributions those children, were they kept safe by the government, would have made to the development of our society, one would see that the sum offered by a government, that spends billions every day, is a mere bagatelle.
Worse, is the attitude and action of the government and the Speaker of the House, Mr. Manzoor Nadir. At the last sitting of the National Assembly, I felt compelled by certain core principles of responsibility, decency and morality, to encourage the House to observe a minute of silence for those who suffered in the Mahdia fire. My colleagues, on the opposition side, stood with me to show their respect for those teenagers who died, in the fire. As was to be expected, Members of Parliament on the government side, refuse to stand and pay their respect. History will judge us, all of us.
I was profoundly disappointed and shocked that it was the first sitting of the National Assembly since that tragedy and the House, the highest decision- making body of the nation, sought to ignore the matter. Not surprisingly, the Speaker of the House attempted to prevent us from observing that minute of silence for those 20 Indigenous children.
It remains the most despicable act of the government. While the PPP/C government claims to be caring and democratic it has been demonstrating actions that could only be described as inhumane and cruel. The government is spending billions of dollars to sell and promote its mantra of “one Guyana”- a confusing and failing concept that seeks to replace our national motto: One People One Nation One Destiny. Yet, to observe just one minute of silence for the lives of 20 Guyanese teenagers, who died because the government, in whose care their parents entrusted their safety, could not keep them safe, was difficult for the government Members of Parliament to achieve.
I encourage Guyanese wherever you are to never forget this action by the PPP/C government. Let it guide in your interaction with the incumbent. Let it influence your action at the next General and Regional Elections in Guyana.
Then, there is social and economic inequality: the policies and actions of the government continue to perpetuate and in some cases exacerbate social and economic inequality. While a few chosen ones- friends and associates of the Ali regime continue to be awarded big contracts for infrastructural and other civil works in vulnerable and poor communities the bulk of the people remain in the tight clutches of poverty.
Every day, the government talks about new multi storey hotels, private hospitals, multi- level shopping malls, international franchises, highways, and more but more than 90% of the population is very poor, working for less than USD500 per month. There is no spending power in certain communities. But this government, that has reduced our democracy to a one party- rule system, does not give two hoots about the poor.
It is evident across our beloved country that, in the face of massive oil finds, wealth and money, the majority of Guyanese remain dirt poor, catching hell to make ends meet every day. With a rising cost of living crisis, the working class cannot afford to feed their children. There is no doubt that the PPP/C has been prioritising the interests of their friends and cronies over the felt needs of the majority.
As a result, our society is marked by glaring disparities in access to education, healthcare, and even loan and other facilities at some commercial banks. This is leading to the marginalisation and suffering of vulnerable groups and communities. It is also contributing to an increase in crimes and allied criminal activities. Just the other day, the Government of the United States of America issued an advisory to its citizens who are desirous of travelling to Guyana. In the fastest growing economy in this part of the world the government is unable to harness increasing incidents of crime. Part of this failure is the direct result of political interference which has divided and undermined the strength of the Guyana Police force.
It was Confucius who said: “To be wealthy and honoured in an unjust society is a disgrace”
Finally, the government has been demonstrating its barbaric and insensitive actions by attempting to use repressive measures to silence dissenting voices, and restrict freedom of speech. One way by which it is doing this is by weaponising certain laws, including cyber laws, and commissions against those, who dare to speak against its discriminatory policies or report stories that highlight wrong doing by government ministers. In fact, the government is now practicing international repression, to get to citizens in the diaspora. It is disrespectful of citizens’ rights.
Locally, the repressive regime is carrying out a vicious attack against the Guyana Press Association, especially its leadership. The Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo is trying his utmost to reposition the Association as a member of the opposition; it is not working. In an effort to discredit this body, at his last press conference, the Vice President said, among other things, that he feels slimy when his name is used by the leader of the Association in releases. Here is a man who is amazingly pathic, lacks class and, quite frankly, disrespectful to citizens.
But this is the man who is leading the government from behind, in the shadows of this barbaric and insensitive regime. Does the Vice President not know that he is trying to gaslight the president of the Association he is facilitating the diminution of the credibility of his government? The barbarism and insensitivity of the PPP/C government should motivate us to keep on fighting for our rights and justice. We must not normalise these inhumane and cruel actions of the incumbent but continue to expose and challenge them wherever they occur.