Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Mar 10, 2010 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom
Monday’s column reflected on the values of Che. This was intended not just as a critique against the commercialization of his image but also as an introduction to today’s column which asks what can leftist parties such as the PPP do to create a more humane society, one in which, as Che advocated, treats with indignation, acts of injustice and poverty within the society.
There is no doubt that the Left sees injustice differently from the Right. Injustices by the Left are often justified on the grounds of necessity. But whether or not we can approach some objective definition of what is justice within a society, there are certain ideals, humanistic ideals, which the Left, however strangled it found itself after the collapse of communism, ought never to have abandoned. These ideals are revolutionary ideals.
The PPP came to power in 1992 because of an accident of history that took place three years earlier. Without the demise of communism, the PPP ironically would never have been restored to power.
Secondly the PPP came to power in a country saddled with a huge debt burden. On top of this the support of the East could no longer be courted because communism was in decay. As such, the building of socialism was put on the backburner.
But what should never have been shelved was the humanism of the Left. While the PPP has allowed its party and government to be overrun by the bourgeoisie class, it never ought to have allowed the dissipation of values that are integral to revolutionaries.
Che spoke about love as a revolutionary virtue. Today there is love within the government, but some people tend to love themselves more than they love the people. Some people care more about their ambitions than about attending to the needs of the people.
Why should people have to protest for water and for proper sanitation in schools? If we truly had a working class government, these things would not be been happening as much as they are today.
Where is the humanity to workers? One trade unionist recently indicated that the minimum wage for security guards is $100 per hour. This rate was reportedly set some time ago by a tripartite team. What was indicated by this trade unionist is that many security companies are paying their workers at the bare minimum, that is, at the $100 per hour.
Any working class government would have ensured that every year this minimum wage would have been revisited so as to ensure that those who are most susceptible to abuse by their employers would receive a fair wage. In fact any revolutionary government would not have bothered with having any tripartite committee. They would have set the rate.
When you consider that so many young girls are working for exploitative wages within the commercial and entertainment sectors, you must wonder why a government which originated from a working class party would allow this situation to continue. These rates need to be looked at and looked at immediately.
From the way the government blew its trumpets during the Budget debate, one was tempted to assume that old age pensions rose by a staggering amount this past year. In fact the increase was minimal, too embarrassing to mention.
Now clearly it costs the government a great deal to pay the pensions even at the existing abysmal levels. And for a country with a low life expectancy, the number of pensioners on roll is too high. But surely we cannot expect our elderly to survive on what is provided even though the government claims that this is just a help to these individuals. A pension should never be just a help.
We no longer have public buses in Guyana whereby we could allow senior citizens to travel free, and the government cannot waive electricity and water rates for senior citizens. This would be too onerous a burden. But surely given all the billions that were said to be spent on some National Competitiveness Strategy on which we have heard very little recently, something better can be done for the elderly.
The elderly look around, they also see the ostentatious living that some government figures enjoy. They see the fancy homes and the luxurious cars. The read about the sumptuous banquets and the expensive overseas travel, and they ask why more cannot be done to provide them with a decent pension.
Che was a humble man. Humility is the hallmark of a revolutionary. And if that can be used as a benchmark to judge the revolutionary traits of some officials within the government, then these virtues seemed to have disappeared with Che and Cheddi.
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