A nation deceived
In a world where accountability is being treated with a significance that underscores its importance to democracy and stability, it has become painfully obvious that we in Guyana have, in the last decade and a half, lost the plot. Apathy has pervaded our society. There’s an interesting quote which could possibly explain this. “The power to lead is the power to mislead, and the power to mislead is the power to destroy.” And destruction it has been. In the simplest of terms, we have been “beaten to a pulp” by those leading us. We all are by now aware that we are continually being taken for a ride. The staggering numbers are now a blur. It would be impossible to truly assess – in monetary terms at least – the effect of all the glaring dishonesty. Absolutely nothing is above board anymore. Deception reigns. There isn’t even any incentive for those willing to tread the right path. When legitimate questions are asked about dubious transactions, characters and dealings, the answers clearly display the utter contempt for those who need to know – the taxpayers and ordinary citizens of this nation. In simple cases where there appears to have been oversight, there is no humility and acceptance that such mistakes can be made. The responses from the powers that be seem to suggest that those beneath them are presumptuous to query that which appears to be misplaced. The blatant disrespect has reached alarming proportions. Many of the individuals chosen to guide our nation have lost all sense of reason. Some government ministers and other high-ranking officials have decided that is unnecessary for anyone outside their inner sanctum to have any understanding of what is taking place around them. Putting it simply, this existing situation is essentially like having a personal bank account, depending on the experts to wisely invest your money, but then being told that what they do with your hard-earned money is none of your business. Such a scenario is unacceptable, so why is that as a collective we are not seeing this? How can it be that our citizens have lost the will to challenge that which we perceive, and in some cases clearly know, will to be detrimental to us, now and in the future? The answer is simple. We are a nation deceived. It has all been an illusion. There have been square pegs in round holes all along, but they somehow appear to be fitting perfectly. They are being blindly accepted. Even by those in position to make changes. The facts are being hidden. The very clever ones at the top of the food chain have mastered the art of deception. They confuse even the independent financial professionals. And when they can’t bamboozle us, they use intimidation to solidify their position. A shady deal is struck. A hotel is built primarily with taxpayers’ millions, and the people are saddled with the heavy debt, but an investor who puts in relatively little will eventually own it. We are told that it’s a great deal and good for our country. That’s deception. We erect a so-called state-of-the-art sugar factory at Skeldon for billions of dollars. The facility is a disaster from its inception. The then president, at the time of its launching, promises to personally get things firmly on track – to see that it serves it purpose and operates efficiently. He then goes his merry way (in terms of being held accountable) and the nation begins paying through its teeth for the prohibitively expensive waste. More deception. The Amaila Falls hydro debacle, the beleaguered Supenaam stelling, the far-fetched dreams associated with the Airport expansion, the well over budget Aquatic Centre and Relief Channel at Hope/Dochfour, the fibre optic cable…well, you get the message. Public servants need to be held to higher standards of accountability. Those in charge of the coffers must begin to feel the heat for their irresponsible actions. How much longer do we intend to exist as a nation deceived?
