THE Christmas season is upon us, and you will soon find yourself among friends, family and co-workers, enjoying the traditional foods and the standard “drink ah rum on a Christmas morning feeling” as you visit all the various staff and house parties. This year has been an eventful one for Guyana. On a positive note, the nation has had a smooth transition of political power, and that is something that we should all give thanks for. Fittingly, we must also extend thanks to the American, British, Canadian, Europeans and Indian governments for their principled stance in preserving our democracy. Thanks must also be extended to the people of India and China for helping us along the way financially, especially on the big projects.

But, more importantly, this is the season for giving back to the needy; so let us dig deep and share more with our underprivileged brothers and sisters. Most importantly, we must all be grateful for the G$50,000 bonus granted to public servants, which in reality has depleted the Treasury by some G$1.6 billion. If they were to get a much-deserved 10 percent increase in salary retroactive from January 2015, they would have had more money in their pockets, but that is beside the point -– gratefulness for small mercies is a good thing.

What 2015 has taught us is that whether the government is on the political right or political left, Afro-centric or Indo-centric, old or young, the working class has always got the wrong end of the stick; every time. This situation demands grassroots leadership, which the fledgling trade union movement is sadly lacking. So, instead of just thinking about it, the workers have to stand united and challenge their union leaders to deliver for them, or move out of the way.

It is time to declare war on leadership at any level that fails to serve the workers’ needs. Our leaders have to make a more determined and conscious effort to be more compassionate to the poor and the working class, and urgently get into the attitude of giving more and taking less. I fought Jagdeoism and I intimately know the danger of that ideology. Today I am seeing green shoots of Jagdeoism in some of the new Ministers. I appeal to President Granger to use all his powers to stamp it out early, before it grows into a giant monster that can destroy the legacy he is trying to build. His strongest and most skilful colleagues must be promoted, and the freeloaders must be recognized and dealt with accordingly.

I must give credit to Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Vice President Carl Greenidge, both of whom have used their talent to strategically advance the agenda of this government. Their skills must be promoted and empowered.

But 2016 has to count for the poor and the working class, since 2015 certainly did not. Here are four ways I believe can help that agenda:

MARKET THE DREAM: If one looks at the APNU+AFC manifesto, one can find many nuggets of gold that are yet to be dug out and moulded into refined products that will grow the national pie, thus leaving bigger slices for all. The economic performance in 2015 is furthest from the dream, and although the source of the meltdown was that Ramotar decision to prorogue Parliament, there is enough evidence to prove that we could have done a much better job at advancing economic growth in the second half of 2015 on many fronts.

CAPACITY BUILDING: We have been hearing about the Public Service Staff College, which is an excellent idea. However, almost 7 months after it was announced, this critical project remains literally unimplemented. This college can help the public servants network, and enhance their skill sets into becoming more productive assets to the nation.

PROVIDE A LIVING WAGE: If one looks at the latest financial statistics, it is not beyond this Granger/Nagamootoo government to provide a better wage than current exists. It is hoped that all stops will be pulled in 2016 to implement the verdict of the Harold Lutchman Public Service Wages Commission. We will never find the right set of talent in the departments until we start respecting them by firstly paying them a fair wage. Right now, workers below the level of heads of department continue to secure a very unfair wage, and this requires a remedy. President Granger has marketed himself as a God-fearing and a conscious man who deeply loves his people. The wages issue will put that image to the test in 2016. It can be done.

IMPLEMENT THE PUBLIC SECTOR INVESTMENT PROGRAM (PSIP):
Although it is an established economic fact that economy growth is driven by four main components, namely growth in personal consumption, growth in government spending, growth in net exports and growth in business investments, we have failed on all four scores in 2015.

In the Guyanese context, there are two areas that have always proven to kick-start the economy. In the short term, on every occasion, high implementation of the PSIP always delivers a stimulus to the economy, without fail. But this cannot be a medium-term strategy, since it is unsustainable. It has to be coupled with business investments (especially foreign direct investments) in the medium term.

Unless and until the Ministries with big budgetary allocations get their act together and start rolling out their programs in 2016 in a much more agile and proactive manner, we are in big trouble. The performance in the Ministries of Agriculture, Education, Heath, and Infrastructure has been furthest from excellent, and much consideration should be given to closely monitoring the work programme and deliverables of these four Ministries on a quarterly basis. If they continue the 2015 performance in 2016, we will be experiencing negative human development.

So, at this time of joy and wonderment, let us all reflect and continue to be vigilant, since there are thousands of dinner tables all across Guyana that are in desperate need of more bread, so that the children can have a little bit more.

Merry Christmas to all! I am humbled to have served you over the last year, and do look forward to contributing to your empowerment.

Notwithstanding all that I said above, I still believe that, at this time, the best team for Guyana remains the Granger/ Nagamootoo Team, in spite of all the challenges. It is my wish that they continue to secure the right quantity and quality of talent to be better positioned to deliver the “good life”.

Happy New Year to all Guyana, and my next column will be featured on the first Sunday in 2016.