Dear Editor
In recent years, China has been dominant in every sector on the international stage, contesting the US economy as the second largest. But this did not happen because China has no challenges or problems. Although China has traditionally been somewhat of a closed society, it has been challenged like Guyana by territorial controversies, social, economic and migration issues. Experts will posit that the political and cultural dynamics vary tremendously and are pivotal factors in the revolution of China’s development. While this is so, there is an overarching element that can be attributed to the rapid change in China’s trajectory. That element is innovation. Innovation is the creation of new methods, ideas, products, etc to counter challenges. One of the innovative initiatives currently being pursued by China is that of the “Belt and Road”. One can study that innovation and the unfolding to date, particularly as it relates to commerce.

Like China, Guyana can be positively transformed through innovations. This was sounded by the President last year when he addressed youths and small business entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, our society seems unwelcoming to innovation. Innovation is not exempt from vices. In Guyana, some of those vices are mental constraints, prohibition by anachronistic laws, practices and socio-cultural nuances, which often fixates this country into quiescence or remonstration.

The Parking Meter issue is a good example. For years parking has been a headache in the City of Georgetown. Its twin has been horrendous congestion. Those of us who drive and are honest will attest to that fact. The authorities, mainly past, seemed incapable of solving that problem. While that was taking place, the City Fathers and their surrogates struggled to raise revenue to keep the City clean and enhance its infrastructure, given the gross negligence by some property owners, businesses and entities to pay up their rates and taxes. Even after repeated amnesties by the Mayor and City Council, some of these people continued to dodge their obligations. It is ironic that many of the same errant tax-payers led the howl against the “revenue collecting” parking project. I do not like the way the Parking Meter project was introduced nor contracted, so that must be made clear. I do not believe SCS should have been in Guyana in the first place, so that must be made even clearer. But, when you aren’t innovative you often end up taking what other people dispense to you.

That is a very unfortunate reality. There are some exceptions of course, and kudos should be given to those few businesses in the City that provided micro-parking facilities to their customer or paying public – I trust that those businesses paid their relevant taxes to the Council.
The next example has to do with crime solving. The police in their efforts to solve some larcenies often hit a huge stumbling block when finger prints are obtained from some crime scenes but no matches are found in their database. The police database is limited. I was reliably informed that prints on that database are captured from only profiled persons or those with prior criminal records. So how do we capture new criminals?

Do we continue mass profiling? What collaboration is there between the GECOM, with its vast national database and finger print records, with the Guyana Police Force? I know some “Rights Groups” will create a riot over what I’m insinuating here, but they also need to consider the magnitude of larcenies and violations of the rights of hard-working, honest citizens who fall victim to crimes left unsolved because of the CID’s limitations. Perhaps, the Honorable Minister of Public Security and Crime Chief may wish to explore the option of synergies or limited access by the CID to the GECOM finger print database in their efforts to accelerate crime solving.

Launching a completion for innovators to come up with brilliant initiatives is another option. Guyanese need to get their minds working properly and progressively again. Anyone can grumble; anyone can complain, make excuses or criticize, but few are actually constructive. In January, 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged his senior officials “to make innovation the priority of development”. It was recognized that the lack of innovation ability is the Achilles’ heel to national development.
Guyana can learn many lessons there.
Let’s try some innovation!

Regards
Orette Cutting