Dear Editor,
OF ALL the Goliaths that President David Granger’s administration has taken care of in less than a year in office: the cleaning up of Georgetown, the Three Bs Programme, and the holding of Local Government Elections, to name a few, the recent debate held for the LGE candidates is an enormous accomplishment for our young democracy.Certainly there are technical and stylistic elements that could always be modified and learned from for consequent debates, but deeper than that is the firm belief that the implications of this debate will serve as a turning point in our society.

For the first time in history, our citizens, the voters, are respected enough to be given an opportunity to judge potential officials for themselves.

For the first time in history, there is a sense that citizens can question government candidates, and, most of all, hold them accountable to fulfill their promises. As such, there is no greater manifestation of true democracy than the participation of a country’s people in free and open political activities.

Another aspect that stood out from the debate was the unhesitant and free physical and financial contributions made from individuals and companies, which all came together at such short notice to bring the idea of the debate to fruition.
While our country is deemed poor, this event exemplified the wealth of kindness and generosity of spirit that defines us as Guyanese — qualities that are hard to find anywhere else in the world. Thus, to all of those individuals that made the debate possible — the lectern builders; the set designers; the organizers; the sponsors; the technical companies; and, most importantly, the candidates, I say thank you.

To analyse one point made during the debate, there was one particular idea presented by a sole candidate, Michael Leonard, which should not be lost or buried among the other proposals. In fact, it should take precedence, given the woeful process inefficiencies within our public institutions. That point is the introduction of electronic governance. In today’s digital age, it is critical to invest in technology in order to optimize systems that serve citizens. For too long we have suffered the brunt of outdated data access and lack of vision in this area. As such, central government should be taking this idea seriously and making it a priority.

Finally, and very importantly, the composition of the candidates was culturally and ethnically misleading. True democracy cannot be achieved without the inclusion and participation of our diverse population. True democracy cannot be achieved without the inclusion and participation of people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, religions and social status.
Sincerely,
NAICELIS ROZEMA