Dear Editor,

WHY would our nation focus the national energy on the immense problems plaguing our social space, while not ever focusing on workable solutions? Problem-focused behaviour in the public square demoralizes citizens.Now we pelt at Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, and Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence, a plethora of disapproval and a cartload of criticism laced with sour accusations of corruption, incompetence, and bad leadership.

We engage in this sort of behaviour as a default reaction — our instinctive way of being. We did it for the two decades that the former Government held office, and now we’re doing it with this new Government.

The private national media and Transparency Guyana International, along with local organizations like Red Thread, an activist non-governmental organisation, have become vociferous against what they perceive as wrong moves from certain Government leaders.

Transparency Guyana International launched itself onto a bold bandwagon and declared, with emphatic arrogance, that Minister Harmon engaged in corruption for his dealings with well-known business personality Brian Tiwari.

Red Thread wants Minister Lawrence fired for her hand in Winston Harding becoming a Councillor in Georgetown, because of Harding’s troubles around child sexual abuse.

We cannot solve the ongoing challenges facing our nation if we continue with this sort of sanctimonious, self-righteous, holier-than-thou, judgmental condemnation of people who may offend us, or with whose actions we do not agree.

The Government of Guyana is the Government, elected in free and fair elections to govern the society. Whatever the flaws at the Elections Commission, the Guyanese society operates as a democracy, and that democracy grants the rights of governance for five years to the Government sworn into office.

Public opinion, sections of the media and activist organizations cannot exert governance by proxy through unnecessary public pressure on the State, so that the State becomes weak and caves in every time an unpopular decision arises.

Minister Harmon chose to engage Mr Tiwari, who, published information reveals, aided the Government in its electoral campaign. The two travelled together to China on State business. What’s wrong and so corrupt about that? An action in and of itself cannot constitute corruption.

Before Transparency Guyana International and the media accuse Minister Harmon of corruption, they must show proof that corrupt practices actually and in fact did take place. Where is the proof and evidence that Minister Harmon and Mr Tiwari engaged in any corrupt practice?

How could Minister Lawrence’s role in Mr Harding’s candidacy for Local Government Elections as councillor warrant Government firing her from her ministerial post?

Mr Harding went to the electorate and won, when his story was public knowledge. Either the electoral system is flawed in allowing persons with questionable resumes to run for public office, or voters are dumb for electing such a person to high office. Whichever it is, why should Minister Lawrence face sanctions and criticisms for her political work?

Mr Harding is subject to the laws of the land, and maybe we should learn from the case and strengthen our electoral laws, instead of lynching Minister Lawrence as a scapegoat.

In the Government of President Donald Ramotar, we saw three Ministers of his Government sanctioned: Ganga Persaud, Dr Bheri Ramsarran, and Dr Jennifer Westford. Yet the private media, vociferous citizens with biased and prejudiced agendas on social media, and private media organs showing blatant hatred for the People’s Progressive Party government engaged in wanton accusations of corruption, poor governance, and sinister whisperings of shady mysteries against the Ramotar government.

As former President Donald Ramotar himself has written, such behaviour leads to the Guyanese nation building a public perception that is grounded in false, malicious and hateful emotional outbursts. The society then upholds as real this perception, which is not based in actual fact, when all it is is perception.

We must allow Government to govern, and its officials to use the five years of its term of office to make the decisions they see as best for the nation.

The Guyanese society lacks the intellectual capacity for the development mandate. If Minister Harmon sees Mr Tiwari as an asset, why should that be a problem? With Mr Tiwari’s experience and know-how, this new Government may benefit, and thus the country as a whole.

If the watchdogs find concrete evidence of corruption, either from the actions of Minister Harmon or Mr Tiwari, lay the evidence out and let the legal authority take appropriate action. But to subject the nation to baseless and subjective accusations with no grounding in rationale, fact, or objectivity is unfair to the Guyanese nation.

These critics fail to realize that the State budget is only US$1B. How much corruption could that fragile wealth sustain? Let’s focus on solutions to grow our economy; that’s what’s important now.

Persons and organizations embracing the power of a public voice in this democratic nation must act with strong professionalism and a keen sense of responsibility, with a sensitive nature to the psyche of the population, instead of jumping up in arrogant disdain to pronounce with emotional wrath on their own perception of what’s going on in the world.
We cannot merely assume that our leaders have acted with sinister motives and underhand scampishness; we must prove guilt before we accuse and judge and condemn.

In this vein, I raise the issue –which troubles me as a journalist — of the Stabroek News potentially involving itself in serious conflict-of-interest and unprofessional journalistic ethics by paying State Auditor Anand Goolsarran as a columnist, and also Rawle Lucas, appointed Chairman of the Guyana Revenue Authority, as its Business Page czar.

When this writer took a contract with the Government of President Ramotar, the Editor of Stabroek News, Mr Anand Persaud, correctly and professionally and ethically pulled a column I was writing then for the newspaper. That’s what professional Journalism is: a total avoidance of any perception of the possibility of conflict-of-interest.

While we may be certain of the professionalism of Mr Persaud, and that the intention of both Dr Goolsarran and Mr Lucas would remain above board and be professional and without ulterior motives, bias or prejudice, the ethics of the Journalism profession could very easily be violated in this case, and such a precedent could cause other personalities of lesser character, resolve and careful self-diligence to find themselves in just such a tempting scenario.

Perception is what matters. And Transparency International is wrong and arrogant and unprofessional to smear the name and character of Minister Harmon with baseless accusations of corruption. The social activist groups are wrong to target Minister Lawrence for the situation Georgetown finds itself in with Mr Harding as an elected councillor. The problem lies at GECOM, with our electoral laws that do not bar men accused of child sexual crimes from engaging in politics.

Given what we saw happen to the Government of President Donald Ramotar, even when he acted based on evidence to sanction three of his Ministers — how development got choked off under unfair, biased and really bad accusations: the Specialty Hospital, the Airport expansion, Amaila Falls Hydro Project come to mind -– we must learn from our history, reform our behaviour, and foster a national spirit of sensibleness, professional public conduct, and rational fair-mindedness.

We, the people, must trust the Government of the land, whoever governs us democratically; and we must construct a national atmosphere of peace, mutual trust and understanding, with absolute focus on our socio-economic future.

Unless we act with deliberate effort at fostering a national atmosphere that is inspiring, motivational and solutions-oriented, we would not escape the history we’ve endured over the last 50 years.
Sincerely,
SHAUN MICHAEL SAMAROO