Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Apr 24, 2014 Letters
DEAR EDITOR,
Recently, we have seen how the East Asian economies, in particular Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia have developed since the period 1959 to present. There seems to be a common denominator that underpins the economic achievements of these countries, an admirable and solid social order cemented in a wider framework of the rule of law that is riveted in the principles of Confucianism.
No society can succeed without a proper social order and no successful society has ever existed without the rule of law, which is a necessary and sufficient perquisite for economic growth and development. This profound response has lingered in our minds, especially against the kidnapping and vicious murder of businessman Rajendra Singh on April 9 by a ruthless person or persons. We condemn in the strongest possible manner such barbaric acts on the innocent citizens by a group of thugs who traverse the country murdering our citizens.
After almost 50 years of political Independence from Britain, this kind of reprehensible and savage behaviour should not be happening in Guyana. But why is this happening?
In answering this question we reflected on a number of issues, among them the continued diminution of the social order, and more broadly the rule of law, rabid political opportunism and massive corrupt practices in every sector of the society and the government. We believe this has resulted from the marginalization of a large section of the population by the ruling oligarchy and the people’s lack of confidence in the security forces and in the justice system. All these issues are inter-connected and tend to have a single result, continued and/or ultimate underdevelopment of the nation.
Social order and the rule of law are rapidly disappearing in Guyana due to cronyism and nepotism. It is not unusual for senior public officials to routinely break the law and violate traffic rules with no penalty. When a senior law enforcement officer states that senior government officials are treated differently when they commit an offence; in essence, he is actually saying that the rule of law is not the same for everyone or that some are above the law based on their status.
We believe that no one should be above the law, but it appears this is not the case in Guyana. A few weeks ago, it was reported that a Minister left the scene of an accident that resulted from his reckless driving and so far, no charges. How can one expect the youths to behave differently when they see this type of injustice taking place in front of their eyes? The police must be allowed to do their job to arrest those who break the law without political interference.
We are also seeing the government abandoning the public hospitals for a Specialty Hospital, the public schools and the University of Guyana are left to rot, the prisons are in total decay, our social services are no longer dependable, crime continues to run rampant and corruption remains unabated. These are but some of our realities and they are antithetical to economic growth and development. The regime can learn a thing or two, or maybe three, that order in society is a necessary condition for everyone to enjoy their freedom. We cannot have a society in which it is commonplace for senior government officials to violate the rule of law or where criminals beat, chop, stab and shoot persons sometimes to death for their belongings. We cannot have a society in which our children are abused, our women are raped and brutalized, our youths are neglected, our seniors are not wanted, our disabled are not cared for and the poor are left to fend for themselves.
What should the government do? First, they must stop the marginalization of a certain section of the population and treat every Guyanese fairly and equally, irrespective of their ethnicity or party affiliations. Second, everyone in society, including ministers must abide by the rule of law. No one should be above the law. Third, we need a competent Minister of Home Affairs who will act swiftly to weed out illegal guns, drugs and violent crimes from society, because all go together to threaten the social order. Fourth, the nation needs ministers who are not more interested in photo ops, self-aggrandizement, propaganda and abusive and vulgar language than the proper education of our children.
These examples are urgently needed so that our schools can embark on a rigorous programme to teach our children to become skillful, intelligent and knowledgeable people who can be productive. But we have an education system which clearly is not producing the kind of civic-minded Guyanese that are needed and is also a product of the rapidly disappearing social order and the rule of law. And the Ministry of Education has done absolutely nothing to correct this situation.
The general disrespect for law and order in society is but a symptom of a poor education system which needs some strong dose of modernization techniques and skills in teaching and learning. This means graduating students who are mathematically competent, who can read, write, think and have a marketable skill.
One can teach oneself almost anything once you have acquired those necessary skills. But this is not the case in Guyana where we have a political system that is characterized by greed, selfishness, propaganda, pettiness and racism carried on by hostile groups which seem to be perpetually at war with one another over our children and the nation’s future. If the politicians continue to politicize everything, then Guyana is in for even sadder and worst times if they do not change course immediately.
This sad state of affairs graduates into the palpable distrust that thousands of Guyanese have for the rule of law, the justice system, the security forces and the government. Some people feel that if they are not well connected monetarily, socially and politically to the ruling party there is little chance of your success or getting justice. This is the kind of Orwellian reality that “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
While this is the reality, those who are paid to fix the system must do so with alacrity instead of resting on their laurels wasting time thumping desks in Parliament with obnoxious language and platitudes. We need to fix the anomalies urgently or else development will escape Guyana.
Dr. Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh
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