Poor governance by the APNU/AFC Coalition over the past 3 years

Dear Editor,
In reading Bishop Edghill’s letter pertaining to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Expansion project I was struck by the sentence “This interconnected group of projects was totally misunderstood and incompetently handled by the APNU/AFC Administration when they came to office in May 2015.” It sums up the 3.6 years of poor governance by the APNU+AFC Administration.
While Edghill asks the question of completion dates, I beg to ask of APNU+AFC’s conception dates, that is to say, what new ideas or projects have come forth from the Granger Cabinet that demonstrates vision for our nation? Editor, the bastardised version of the Low Carbon Development Strategy relabeled as the “Green State Development Strategy” lacks the innovation of LCDS and is about as practical as the coats of green paint applied to Government buildings en masse. All of the current projects except the plethora of speed bumps, being undertaken, were conceptualised and started under the PPP/C Administration. The Public Infrastructure Minister likes to point out the “little things” that his Ministry accomplishes; he should be reminded that his little fixes come with a hefty price tag and are works that should be carried out by competent city and village councils. Street lights and potholes are not the purview of a Minister of State, it is the work of a city Councillor.
Editor, Guyana was moved from a heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPIC) to Upper Middle Income under successive PPP/C Administrations, this was done without the much hyped “Oil money” that has become the focus of this vacuous APNU+AFC Administration. Neglect of the pillars of our economy – Mining and Agriculture – by APNU+AFC is mind boggling, coupled with a belief that Guyanese can be taxed to pay for their excesses of expenditure on the frivolous, non-productive and mismanaged little things with massive price tags led a most expensive and disastrous period in our nation’s economic history. The APNU+AFC have emptied the coffers of the USD$900 million reserves and are driving us further into debt daily.
Editor, the APNU+AFC boasts of the largest budgets in our nation’s history, would that they could boast of a completed project that they conceived and executed successfully. Along with this massive increase in expenditure came the curse of unaccountability. The Auditor General’s reports read like a hatchet job of Government politicians, listing unaccounted billions, lack of concern for procurement safe-guards, basics such as receipts and ledgers are a problem in every item of expenditure in every single Ministry. The level of incompetence caused by “the twin sins of ignorance and arrogance” as described by Edghill in an earlier missive is stunning.
2019 elections are upon us and Guyanese must face the questions of vision for our nation and ability to deliver good governance. My advice to all is to disregard those who see “oil money” as a panacea, look to those who understand that Guyana has to now rebuild and strengthen her other pillars of economy, engage in a massive education renaissance and restore governance for the benefit of the people and not the few.
Respectfully
Robin Singh