Enough has been said and written about the totally unprofessional conduct of the Guyana Revenue Authority in its humiliating treatment of its Commissioner-General Khurshid Sattaur. What needs to be explained is why this is not an isolated incident.
Even though he is on administrative leave from which very few expect him to return he remains the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority and is clearly, as any person on leave, entitled to his full contractual benefits.The GRA has though its wild actions sought to deprive him of such by seizing the computer, cellular phones and vehicles which are assigned to him. This is conduct unbecoming but one that has become quite familiar since the new APNU+AFC came to power.
The APNU-AFC must appreciate that there is a right way and wrong way to do things and it should err on the side of doing things the right way rather attempting to run roughshod over Government agencies. There have been too many instances of Wild West tactics since the change in power in the country.Whether or not Khurshid Sattaur was professional in his work cannot be used as a justification for the manner in which he was treated. Two wrongs do not make a right. The coalition government should not be doing to persons what it condemned the PPP for doing. There should be no double standards.
There was no reason to subject him to such action. He will soon reach retirement and it is obvious that he will be let go. So why humiliate him even before he has demitted office?
The unprofessional and undignified manner in which the Commissioner General has been treated is partly because of the bitterness that was built-up just prior to the elections. When the new government came to power this bitterness was translated into a get-even sentiment with many supporters of APNU+AFC wanting to see the backs of those persons who were perceived to be associated with the former regime. This would have included persons who were simply doing their jobs but who by virtue of their profession or rank became the object of the get-even campaign.
APNU+AFC has also appointed a number of political commissars into public office. Some of these persons overcompensate for their incompetence and lack of knowledge by being uncouth and unprofessional. Others believe that because they have political Godfathers they can do as they please.One such person is addicted to skirt tails and has been making merry in the office that he occupies. His position of authority even has women throwing themselves at him. This sort of licence that the recent appointees have will encourage them to take attempt to do as they please.
The big loser in all of this is not the PPP. It is the country. Professionals in this country are just as divided politically as the rest of the electorate. But professionals abhor unprofessional conduct. Most of them know the consequences of arbitrary dismissals, dismissals at pleasure, the sending of fellow professionals on administrative leave humiliating treatment of senior public officers and political appointments within the public sector.
History is repeating itself. Long before the economy, under the PNC, hit rock-bottom, there was an exodus of professionals. They saw from as early as 1970 what was happening. They saw the power of a party card. They saw the square pegs being placed in round holes. Unable to stand working under incompetent, less qualified and inexperienced political commissars, the professionals created the first brain-drain wave in Guyana.Guyana has never recovered from that exodus. We may not survive the one that is sure to follow should the humiliating treatment of professionals continue within the public sector.
