Modernisation?

By Peter R. Ramsaroop

This week as floodwaters converged on our streets again, one could not help but wonder why Guyana is still burdened with even the smallest of issues that most countries take for granted. The President was quick to blame the city officials for not using “his” $50M handout wisely, but he failed to tell the public why the East Coast and all the way to Berbice was also flooded, even after he spent $800M of Donors money. Donors ought to take note of this corruption and investigate where the money went. (SN Headline “Some $800M spent on flood response Thursday, June 30th 2005”

Almost daily we bombarded by propaganda of advertisement on modernisation, aired on the Government illegal station that insists there is significant progress going on in this country. The truth is more than obvious when our home or business stands in inches of water. The truth is that Guyana has made no significant advancement in decades.

True, we might have some new paved streets without traffic lights, but what good are those new streets if they are covered in water or we can’t get to them because the streets leading to them are covered in water, and when residents at the back of Tain, has no electricity or drinking water. This week’s flooding makes it more than obvious that our infrastructure is beyond just a few quick fixes. There are no engineering diagrams on the flow of the drains. Cleaning the drains does not solve the problem. Do we know if Almond Street drains in Queenstown, leads to a drain in Kitty, which then leads to another drain? What if somewhere in this system, there is no connection because a new modernised road is built over it.

Guyana needs a complete overhaul of almost every aspect of our roads, bridges, sewers, communications system and transportation system. Most times a government can simply maintain certain parts of its infrastructure, but there are also times when the old system is beyond repair and a completely new one needs to be integrated.

Our streets and sewers were state of the art systems when the British first built them. Since then, they have not been properly maintained and now fall into a state of complete disrepair. Moreover, the national infrastructure, as a whole, has aged far beyond its life expectancy and requires a complete modernisation.

At first glance it would seem the system with the most immediate need of an overhaul is the drainage system. However, I disagree. I believe the most needed overhaul is in the governmental system. We need new leadership that promotes an overarching approach to progress even more than we need a new drainage system or a bridge to Berbice.

There must be a balanced to development. Georgetown, as the capital of the country, should be a city of which every single Guyanese is proud. However, there should also be a focus on the villages that are spread throughout every part of our nation. Quick fixes are sometimes necessary but a comprehensive approach that creates a sustainable solution is far more acceptable.

The quick fixes that were supposed to have been implemented for the drainage system to prevent further flooding are in fact a miserable failure. Those in charge of maintaining this system cannot even keep the canals clean for easy water flow or ensure that the pumps do indeed have functioning fuses.

This type of incompetence is akin to an episode of the Three Stooges, but there is absolutely nothing funny about the significant loss of money each time homes and businesses are flooded. Just imagine the amount of merchandise that is completely ruined from just the first minor rain of the season.

This situation is simply unacceptable. I would never allow this type of ineptitude in my business. How much more should a governmental administration require a skilled and immediate response to any situation when thousands of people are counting on them? Since it was common knowledge that this rain was expected, a competent team would have made sure the entire drainage system was in proper working order.

It is almost as if our entire government system is just going through the motions of what they think they are suppose to do, but do not really have a clue as to what it is they should be doing. They try to say the right things and act like they are in complete control of the vital aspect of the country, but then it rains and the whole charade comes crashing down.

This is exactly the same scenario when it comes to crime, the economy and almost every other aspect running a nation. It use to be said that the PPP was a reactive government, as opposed to a proactive one, that would scuttle to fix a situation when necessary and not one second before. However, now that cannot even be said of this party since they can no longer fix the looming problems with a simple patch job after the fact.

There is no reason why Guyana cannot be as modernised and contemporary as the rest of the Caribbean. Well, actually I guess there is one reason – bad leadership. Even as a big stadium is being built to host the World Cup, there are so many other aspects of this mammoth event that Guyana is simply not prepared to handle and no steps are being taken to resolve this issues.

We have a significant shortage of hotel rooms, we have very little to offer a tourist inside the city and most importantly, the government still cannot contain the crime problem as they continue to pay the police force crumbs, while big contractors get Donor’s money to do incompetent work. Does the PPP think the criminals are just going to take a vacation while the World Cup is here? A quick reality check will show that the criminally minded will be on their worst behaviour when lots of tourists, with lots of money, come to Guyana.

The World Cup is not an occasion that the PPP can serve up a quick fix or a patch job after everything has gone wrong. This is Guyana’s chance to shine; yet we haven’t even so much as fixed the drainage system. Can you imagine how embarrassed the entire nation would be if it flooded during the World Cup?

What would we tell the world? There was a blown fuse? The canals were clogged? That our drainage system cannot handle more than 1.5 inches of rain in a 24-hour period? The President could not find his Civil Defence Staff? This whole situation is a prime example of how much Guyana needs a government with a vision for the future.

The PPP cannot pass the blame of the recent flooding onto others without accepting responsibility for its own lack of preparedness. Pushing blame on everyone else for the sad state of the country is just not believable anymore. The people are starting to see with their own eyes that the PPP does not have the ability to effectively run a country.

Modernisation is not about a 666% increases in the value of the dollar that really buy less than in 1992 when one accounts for inflation. Modernisation of a nation is about a measurable, cost effective blueprint that when put into action, integrates infrastructure, economics, political and social components to improve the lives of the people.

When election time comes around, how will the people vote? Will they vote for more floods, more crime, more poverty and more corruption? Or will they vote for progress, vision, modernisation and development? There really isn’t a choice, is there?