Jordan’s jumbie arithmetic

Dear Editor,
The PNC is in desperation mode right now, and every conceivable strategy in their arsenal of tricks they are prepared to explore. I am talking about the proposed hike in public servants’ wages and salaries. According to Jordan and his president, the proposed hike would be somewhere around 9%, retroactive to January of this year, which is pretty, good judging from the dismal circumstances that prevail.

The statistics seem to show that public servants are in for a windfall this Christmas, and everything should turn out to be hunky dory in that sector of workers; or is it?
And this is the discussion I would like us to get into. To the unsuspecting eye, the above scenario seems to be a kind gesture of goodwill, and as the usual overworked term goes, a refurbishment of “the good life theory”.

But let us look a little closer at this expression of goodwill by Jordan’s Government, and you will see that it is coming 3 years late, which tells you that public servants are worse off than they were prior to 2015.
Now, the reasons are very clear.

In 2015, public servants were not faced with the massive inflation that persists, which means that they might be earning a little more but have lost tremendously on their disposal income on the long run. It means that they might be earning a few more dollars, but what stays at their disposal is zero. The public servants are caught in an eddying cycle of debt repayments and refinancing of loans, which makes life in Guyana a living hell. Indeed, public servants are worst off now than in 2015.

There is also the double whammy wherein some in the public service have lost their jobs, which means that there is no job, no income with which to maintain and run a household, and a horrible life ahead. Not forgetting the steep rise as well as the introduction of over 200 new taxes. When you tax the people, it means that they have less take-home pay.

So what has this Government done for its people? The answer is nothing substantial! You are talking about mortgage rates going up at commercial banks while the servicing of loans has skyrocketed. Banks are also nervous at lending, or are being outright in refusing to lend. So the voodoo arithmetic Jordan is proposing is just a lot of hot air, or as some would say: much ado about nothing.

The PNC are in desperation mode right now, and the inordinate obsession to buy votes for the upcoming general elections is obvious. If you ask the public servants if their lives have been enriched since this Government took office, the answer would be a resounding no!
So, Guyanese, don’t be fooled by Jordan’s arithmetic. It is just another PNC ploy to get votes. I rest my case.

Respectfully,
Neil Adams