Dear Editor,
The recent budget that was passed by the APNU/AFC Coalition is a disaster for our nation. This budget doesn’t increase the salaries of the public and private sector employees. This was promised by this coalition government.
They said in their manifesto that they will raise the salaries of workers by 20%; unfortunately they raised their own salaries by 50% and they are exempted from taxes thus live free on tax payers’ money.
They said they are the change but what are we changed from? It seems to me that we have changed from bad to worse. This reminds me of George Orwell book Animal Farm with the slogan: ‘’All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.’’ It’s very sad that this new government failed this entire nation from all their promises. They failed to create new jobs for our graduates. More and more crime is on the rise since this new administration took office. More and more educated people are fired from their jobs all because of nepotism.
The closure of the Wales Sugar Estate now and all others is very imminent. This will bring economic disaster upon our nation. President Granger said: ‘’Sugar is too big to fail,’’ but his government has continued to fail the people of Guyana not only in sugar but in all other aspects of administration. By not creating jobs and a better salary for our people, it means more and more migration and an empty Guyana by the time we have a next election or a selection in 2020. Guyanese have become a nomadic people always on the move just like vagrants.
Our erudite Finance Minister, the Hon. Winston Jordon said the VAT is slashed to 14%; that’s 2% reduction but we now have to pay VAT on electricity, water and Internet bills. This is like digging a hole to fill a hole. I wonder if he really knows what he is doing or is he just guessing his way in economics and mathematics. His figures for the budget are abysmally dismal and ridiculous. Let me examine the services we are having from GPL, GWI, and GTT to refute taxes on these enormous bills.
He also claims that not many people are paying over $10,000 on GPL bills so those who pay under $10,000 GPL bill will not pay VAT; that is not true. Every day our citizens flock all the GPL offices like flies around a night light to query their exorbitant GPL bills that amount into thousands.
What makes it worse is the constant amount of long hours of blackouts we are faced with, yet GPL never reduced their charge on consumers or refund them monies on their bills. So why must we pay VAT on GPL bills for a service we are not having? Last Wednesday night I went to church, suddenly a blackout came that lasted for 7 hours; only six people came to church because of the blackout.
I couldn’t see to start my generator so we just prayed and went home. GPL has been a complete embarrassment in this day and age. Why are we still in blackouts? Something is definitely wrong with our past and present administration. After 50 years of independence we are still living in darkness.
Now I come to the GWI. The water we get is just a few hours and it’s unfit for drinking even washing; it’s filled with green substances and other elements that make unfit for human consumption. Besides that the water pressure can’t fill a bucket a foot height so we have to pump it into black tanks.
So we pay a double bill, one for GWI and a next one for electricity for pumping. The water is gone just a few hours so those who work early cannot return at 7 PM to get GWI water for a bath. So why pay taxes on water we don’t get twenty four hours a day? When there is a blackout we don’t get water because it works with electricity. How sweet!
The internet service offered by GTT is the slowest and worst in the entire Caribbean and they get away with murder. We pay for a service that’s just a waste of time and money. It is extremely slow. Now GTT asking for money for the phone they used to give customers for free. When you call them for a service they always on voice mail and they take months before they come. They are never efficient to fix your phone lines and internet problems but efficient in sending you an invoice for payment. So why pay VAT on phone and internet bills for a very in-efficient service.
This new budget with all its taxation will kill the poor man. Also the rich will be forced to raise their commodities in their stores to regain the enormous taxes they are paying. If this APNU/Coalition stated in their manifesto and in their campaign that they can do better than the former government, then they need to deliver to our Guyanese people.
They themselves ought to pay taxes because real leadership is leading others by example. Are we a democratic nation or a socialist state where all our earnings and resources go back to the state just like Cuba? It’s time the voice of our people be heard and a new vision of young brilliant minds lead this nation in the next elections. May God open our eyes from spiritual darkness into his marvelous light.
Rev.Gideon Cecil