By GHK Lall- If I come across again those two words now politically fashionable, I swear that I will lead a picketing exercise or march in front of the Office of the President. I may even move to incite Guyanese to venture into unknown worlds. World class. Is somebody kidding me? If world class is a media decision, and not an expansion of PPP propaganda, then an apology is due. To His Excellency, Dr. Ali, Vice President Dr. Jagdeo, and Budget Master Minister, Dr. Singh.
To get to the bottom of this budget exaggeration, another rank political abomination, what is world class in Guyana today? Again, what has been world class in the domestic environment, other than a handful of its people attracting küresel recognition for their stellar achievements in various fields? Yet from the media coverage, particularly SN’s. of the 2025 budget presentation, I read of “$2.9 billion to modernise revenue administration…to develop a world class tax system.”
With respect to Commissioner General of Taxes, Godfrey Statia, Guyana is a universe away from a “world class” tax system. If the use of those two words were part of Dr. Singh’s verbal hijinks during the budget delivery, he should know better, and that he only opens himself to more ridicule than any single individual should attract.
Next, I read in the Budget Highlights section of SN under Air Transport of $7 billion “to commence construction of a new world class 150,000 square foot terminal building at CJIA.” Has somebody in the PPP Government’s budget team lost it, is experimenting with words as if they are illicit chemicals? As someone who has passed through hundreds of airports over a period of decades, I should know a world class terminal when I see one.
The CJIA has made some strides, but only after long delays and larger infusions of cash. The results have not been world class in spite of the extra time and extra taxpayer dollars of the Guyanese people that were splurged. Whoever has been hitting the bottle extra hard over in the PPP kingdom should ease up and seek counseling. I say this, because only the highly inebriated is capable of coming up with a construction of “world class” in the context of the CJIA. As a proud and un-bowing Guyanese, few things would give me greater pleasure than to agree that world class is what there is and going to be at the CJIA. Dr. Cheddi Jagan would like that, but has long given up on his political descendants keeping his flame going.
Then, a new one sneaked into the 2025 budget narrative. There was this blurb: “to advance Government’s vision of [there it was again] free world class education for all Guyanese.” It is rather sneaky and shameless to insert “world class” to underline the PPP Government’s commitment to education through the $175 billion set aside for that sensitive sector. Oh my God! Like the electricity grid, billions upon billions have been poured into the public education realm and what Guyana has gotten for it, but a sour taste and rising levels of anger.
Hundreds of billions for improved literacy and numeracy, and I invite all reasonable citizens to check for themselves where the children are. The government and its mandarins may believe that success in 20 or 25 subjects at one sitting of the CSEC examinations stakes a claim for a “world class” education system. I hate to do this, but quite a few people in this country are burying their heads in the sand, and are clever enough to remain stuck there. When will this trash talking stop? When will there be that honest talk that has a close relationship to reality, and which is a hallmark of clean governance?
Since I got all riled up with world class this and world class that, I went scouring the Budget Highlights segment of SN pages to ascertain if “world class” reappeared under that $88 billion for cheap and reliable electricity (watch that one closely, people) and came up short. Not one to be easily deterred, especially when dealing with the twisted and demented, I went looking under the health sector, only to discover that the government got cute. The Government settled for the rather tame sounding “dramatic expansion and improvement in the coverage of the public health deva system.”
For $143.2 billion from the budget, there should have been more bang for each dollar. That is, the “world class” health system that President Ali makes himself sound and look funny when he uses those two words. If the public healthcare system which has received over a trillion dollars in the last few years has dropped from “world class” the government should say why.
I note the budget provision of that $5,000 universal health voucher to every Guyanese to help finance basic tests.? Why is that necessary when the public health system is reportedly “world class”? and why when senior government people rush to the US for medical treatment, including maternity needs? Aside from what $5,000 could buy for a basic health test, it means that the public system cannot deliver, so sick citizens are being subsidized to go elsewhere.
To wrap this up, I would love for any sector in Guyana to be world class. But, please, let’s stop making idiots of ourselves with this joke about world class. It is so flat that it never gets off the ground. So long, everyone.