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A SELF-INTERESTED GUYANESE CULTURE
Guyanese have inculcated a culture of finding individual solutions to the myriad national problems we face. Take for instance the national grid. GPL has been falling terribly short of providing a reliable supply of electricity for decades but instead of devising a national solution to this economically and socially debilitating situation householders and businesses, who can afford it, come up with individual solutions by purchasing their own generators. This they do with the encouragement of government. When you consider it, the accumulative funds expended individually over the decades we have been grappling with how to secure a more cost effective, safe and reliable electricity system, we the people could have invested in upgrading the national grid by now.
A PALL OF FEAR STALKS THE LAND
Fear stalks the land in various forms such as in the misuse of political power to favour friends and to intimidate others, since the principle of equal treatment and equal opportunity is not embraced by the powers that be. Fear has taken a stronger hold on the society since the advent of the phantom force as it is believed that a real possibility exists that ‘death squads’ might come knocking at anyone’s door either because of mistaken identity, involvement in some illicit affairs gone wrong, or because of profiling of one kind or another. So people choose either to operate generally under the radar, or opt out of engaging in activity they consider hazardous; but such activity would, as a matter of course, be deemed normal for citizens in most democracies. Yet, the governing political directorate boasts that they have returned democracy to Guyana.
A SCARCITY OF VOICES AGAINST THE ILLS OF SOCIETY
There are fewer voices being raised against the injustices, the suffering of the people and wrongdoing taking place in Guyana than previously experienced, and what is even more disturbing is the fact that many in the Diaspora capable of articulating and advocating on behalf of the long suffering Guyanese people choose to remain silent while actively working the email circuit. What are they afraid of? Why aren’t more people in the Diaspora standing up and being counted? Surely they are not afraid of losing their jobs, or afraid that their businesses will be targeted for ‘special’ treatment by ‘the powers that be’.
GHOST WRITERS HAVE LICENCE
Ghost writers have received licence to operate generally by some sections of the print media that demand contact details from the public before publishing letters to the editor. From their writings I know them, and you know them, yet they are allowed to slip through the cracks. To think that such writers are being paid from the treasury is really irksome. Thank goodness they fool few people if any!
MEN URINATING IN PUBLIC
I confess that I’ve reached a point in life where I no longer ‘sweat the small things’ but nonetheless I find it infuriating to see men urinating against a post in full sight of all and sundry in the manner of dogs. Whenever I happen upon such a sight, I am struck by the fact that women manage to solve this natural human need in a more socially acceptable way.
POLITICIANS
We live in a society, indeed in a world, where politicians are the butt of the most disparaging jokes reflecting the general opinion of the people who make up the electorate. Yet, the fact that the people elect politicians who are so disparaged, seem to escape all and sundry who chuckle gleefully at such jokes.
LAWYERS
Like Politicians, lawyers are generally poorly rated. Many among them give a bad name to the profession when they take fees from clients but expend insufficient effort to represent them adequately. Stories abound about those lawyers who thrive on dishonest practices in a system that allows them to escape without being disciplined. There is need for a code of practice which the public should demand and a more effective disciplinary committee of the Bar Association.
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
Judges and Magistrates all know that ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ yet it appears that without giving much consideration to this edict, they routinely grant postponements of cases merely because lawyers make such requests. In many of these cases the litigants have to wait years before they get their day in Court and in many instances, when that day comes, it is too late for many to receive true justice because they had suffered direly, emotionally and financially. How much longer will our society continue to tolerate this?
NOISE NUISANCE
I’ve come to realise that some people have an unusually high tolerance level for noise as becomes evident when they play their boom boxes so loudly as to cause pictures on the walls nearby to rattle. Either these people don’t care or they do not understand the agony that others who are sensitive to noise have to endure, or how infuriating and nerve racking it is to their neighbours who desire peace and quiet. There is no need to argue the case of why the authorities need to devise an effective strategy to deal with noise nuisance. It has to be done! The question is when, given their failures to do so up to now. I would like to challenge the lecturers and students of the University of Guyana to take this up as an academic study to lead the way in easing the suffering of the society.
These things bother me, only because they are so many things that I love about Guyana.
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THE AFC’S FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL 2006
The deadline set by the President for the introduction of Freedom of Information legislation has expired, and there is no sign of any draft legislation on the horizon. Another promise has been broken. This time the international community has taken note because of the time and place that the promise was made at the 5th Summit of the Americas.
Instead of giving us the truth, the PPP/C General Secretary, who has nothing to do with the Government’s legislative agenda, is claiming that the problem lies with an inefficient Attorney-General’s Chambers. This as we all know is balderdash. Not even a school child believes this to be the reason why the legislation has not been presented. In fact, we are now convinced that His Excellency, the President, finding himself cornered by his colleagues and the international press corps in Trinidad & Tobago, made the statement to relieve the pressure from the AFC’s advertisement and the barrage of questions that were coming his way.
Nevertheless, despite the refusal by this government to strengthen our democracy, the AFC will continue to press ahead with the cause for Freedom of Information legislation because we believe that the failing democracy in Guyana needs legislation such as this to address corruption, mismanagement, and bad governance. No modern thinking politician and leader could have an objection to this legislation if the claim to governing for the benefit of the people is true. We urge the people of Guyana to support the necessity for this legislation.
Below, we set out some more aspects of the AFC’s Freedom of Information Bill that is presently before the National Assembly and awaiting approval.
Clause 42-Preservation of Records
(1) “A public authority shall maintain and preserve records in relation to its functions and a copy of all official documents which are created by it or which come at any time into its possession, custody or power.
(2) A person who willfully destroys or damages a record or document required to be maintained and preserved under subsection (1), commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of five thousand dollars and imprisonment for six months.”
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