DECEIVING THE PUBLIC

In Guyana, the public is being deceived almost every day. But in recent times it has been established that one cannot hide that which cannot be hidden, especially in the information age. The current government had promised that if elected, it would stamp out corruption, but very little has changed so far.
The people are watching the actions of the government carefully, and are waiting patiently for an explanation on the various irregularities and potential scandals. They want to know about Baishanlin and its tax situation with the GRA; the real truth about the Minister of State’s secretive trip to China; and who paid for that trip as well as other pertinent details.
Despite what appears to be embarrassing miscommunication, the Minister was not disciplined by the President who insists that he did not breach the proposed code of conduct for ministers.
The people are not fools; they want to know the truth. This obvious kid glove approach will have a negative impact on the government and the people’s perception of it. Setting such a dangerous precedent could destroy the administration’s credibility. How for instance can others be disciplined for similar behaviour after this charade?
The concocted story that the Minister went on a business trip to China to collect US$5 million owed to the government by a Chinese company was a poor attempt to divert attention from the scandals being generated. If the company claimed that it paid the money, it is quite easy to trace the payment. For some unknown reason the transaction is beginning to assume clandestine proportions. To begin with, the venture was wasteful.
These stories testify to the inadequacy of the government whose excessive overseas trips have already cost the taxpayers millions and not much to show for them. Furthermore, the tens if not hundreds of millions spent on investigating the sugar industry, the Rodney Commission and on forensic audits have not yielded any real results. Thus far, the government has not officially released most of the audit reports, but the public still wants to know whether there is evidence of the misappropriation of funds, corrupt transactions, waste of monies, flagrant breaches of the law and committing of the state to obligations detrimental to it.
In terms of socio-economic issues, the country is not doing well. The World Bank reports that for every dollar in loans Guyana borrows, it gets only 70 cents of value due to the weak dollar which is worth less than one US cent. Almost half of the population lives below the poverty line and many are squatters. Forty-five percent of youths are jobless, and the country’s murder rate is in the top ten among countries in the hemisphere with 42 murders for the year.
Guyana has the third highest income inequality in the Hemisphere. Almost 70 percent of high school students are failing the hard sciences and more than half do not pass enough subjects to further their education at the tertiary level. Health care is in shambles. Despite denials from hospital officials that there is no shortage of drugs in the country, it has been revealed that 68 of 86 essential drugs including paracetamol, aspirin, 70/30 insulin and lanoxin injections are out of stock and patients are asked to purchase medications from private pharmacies.
Despite these problems, the government continues to spend lavishly as if the country has unlimited reserves at its disposal. When in opposition, the government said that Guyana has a “donkey cart” economy.  Today, it is deceiving the public that all is well, when in fact the economy is in dire straits and the poor are getting poorer.