Are these problems befitting of Presidential intervention?

Dear Editor,

As I sit here and read the news of the President visiting various Regions and getting things done, I am having some serious doubts as to how effective this exercise will be. The reason for this, Editor, is because while it is commendable that the President of a country is travelling less and attending to the needs of the people in Guyana, the things that he is tackling is basically mundane compared to the problems of the everyday life of Guyanese.

So what are these problems you may ask Editor? For starters, I’ve seen him sorting out a pensioner who was unable to receive his pension for two months. Tell me, is this commendable? Is this a problem befitting of Presidential intervention? I think not! Why is it that NIS couldn’t have this man’s problems sorted out? Why is it that NIS is so slow that it takes months to sort out people’s problems relating to pension and benefit? Further, why is benefits from NIS still so meagre? $10,000 for a full spectacle is far too low.

Next up is the frustratingly long amount of time that it takes for payments to be processed by RDCs. And the amount of checks and balances that seems over the top, and contributes to the ever rising need for more staff, thereby increasing the amount of people who are employed using tax dollars, most of whom are rude and unhelpful and downright unprofessional. The sad part is that, while it is easy to bash these public servants, we have to admit that the laws and procedure governing them play a significant part of their effectiveness.

Another major grievance of the people is that the Ministry of Housing is much too slow to execute the development of lots to meet the demands of Guyanese. There must be a more realistic approach to sorting this out, but yet again, many people have faced the issue where their documents have been lost, the same as NIS. Our records system as a whole in the public sector needs to be modernized.

Editor, with all these problems that we face, is it not a farce that we are being robbed blind of our natural resources? Is it so shocking? We lack the abilities to sort out the small problems and we got oil? That’s a recipe for disaster. I really want to know if the leaders of Guyana, both Government and Opposition for the past 50 years don’t feel any shame? All the current and past Parliamentarians? The clear answer is no!

They are only concerned about gaining power so that their friends and family benefit! They are only concerned about giving handouts to keep people hooked on the system of dependence, so that their motives to half of the population seem pure! We are told by scammers that we are oppressed and they provide a way to make money, but the politician is no different! Remember that the next time a politician promises you anything!

Regards,
Amir Khan