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Kaieteur News
Making a substantive difference at the LGE 2018 DEAR EDITOR, We recently had an experience with our Neighborhood Democratic Council Better Hope, as it relates to garbage collection. On Tuesday, October 9, 2018, we contacted our NDC for their scheduled disposal days, and were elated when we were informed that Wednesday is the weekly scheduled pickup day for our community. We were advised that since pickups are not timed, it would be best to leave the secured garbage bags on the parapet for removal. On Wednesday, no garbage was picked up.
After numerous calls and a visit, the garbage was finally collected on Friday, October 12, 2018. Sadly, and in most communities, it is a norm that if the scheduled garbage disposal day passes, it is expected for residents to wait for the next scheduled pick up day the following week. This is unacceptable. This is a regular garbage disposal issue with many NDCs. Too often, the excuses are not practical. With Local Government Elections (LGE) scheduled for November 12, 2018, I plead with our local representatives to address this issue, as it is
one of many critical subjects, and the only acceptable solution lies in electing policy makers, who are responsible and share the view of serving and protecting the public interest. Further, making tough public policy decisions and holding the Council responsible for their mandate. This poses a serious health concern and it affects all of us. Let’s all act affirmatively and make the necessary choices that will lead to a timely resolution of this problem. Yours sincerely, D. Jodhan
An Open Letter to All Journalists By Arlene J. Schar and Dr. David R. Leffler Terrorism has taken a disturbing turn with the horrific murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Apparently the intent of this murder was to send a message to all journalists dedicated to thoughtful criticism of government. Therefore, what would be the most appropriate journalistic response to such blatant censorship? Is it to continue to report in good conscience, and risk brutal death? Or is it to step away from any controversial reporting and deny the truth to those who need to hear it? There is yet a third response, one which carries no risk to those reporting it. That
The Granger Administration’s actions speak... From page 4 nothing there!”Another example of irrational decision making by the Granger Administration is the case of the pardoning of a number of juvenile prisoners, despite advice and exhortations not to do so. The decision is irrational because it violates the well-known and established psychological principle: rewarding bad behaviour enables that behaviour. You don’t have to be a graduate of the University of Guyana to know that. Any parent of a child knows that instinctively and intuitively. Have you ever heard of a case where a parent took a child to a lavish dinner in celebration of a poor end of term school report? Unsurprisingly, soon after the young prisoners were released, a number of them were re-arrested for committing other offences. When you reward bad behaviour you are reinforcing that behaviour. When the Granger Administration rewards non-performance it is enabling non-performance of the ministers. Yet another instance of irrational decision making by the Granger Administration is the appointment of stunningly underqualified individuals to senior positions in government or-
ganizations. According to recent reports in the press, the Minister of Finance bemoaned the fact that most of the corporations were running at a loss and that none of the ministries has the requisite capacity to perform. The appointment of a person qualified in one area, say an environmental specialist, to manage an Oil Industry, is like choosing the best dental surgeon in the country to perform openheart surgery on a heart patient. It is not the Ph. D behind the name that counts; it is the skills set, the core competencies or as Warren Buffet says, their ‘circle of competence’. What is required is a person with at least a minimum of 5 years’ experience at the executive level to run the Oil Industry Department. Editor, would you use the most up to date Google cartographic map of Guyana to navigate your way in Trinidad? No! Why not? Because the map is not the territory it depicts. In Guyana, there are many instances where you have the unqualified interviewing the qualified and finding the qualified unqualified for the job! The predictable irrationality of the Granger Administration! It reminds one of the famous Roman Emperor Caligula who so loved one of his horses, he appointed the horse as a consul!
It is well established in business circles that the human resource is the most valuable resource of a business or a country. What lessons can the recently concluded FIFA World Cup Final teach the Granger Administration? Take the case of France. Some journalists jokingly referred to France as being the 8th African country participating in the World Cup because of the high number of African players on the team. France is not known for its loving regard for black people. Yet, France was able to win the World Cup because of the sheer power, speed and sublimely skilled African players. Skills and competence trumped ethnic considerations. Burnham was a political genius if only because he harnessed the knowledge, skills and competence of persons from all ethnic groups. The Granger Administration should take a page out of Burnham’s Playbook in this regard. A final example of irrational decision making is the case of not hosting regular press conferences ostensibly because of pressing and onerous international obligations. The excuse used is an explanatory fiction. Any first year student of international relations will tell you that the leaders of Poor Third World Countries are ‘takers of decisions not makers of decisions’ at international meetings. They are not
Saturday October 27, 2018
unlike the poor cousin who is invited to the party of a rich uncle. He or she goes to the party (in Guyanese parlance) to ‘tek in all dey gat’! Third World leaders at meetings abroad are politely listened to but studiously ignored. They go there either to beg, borrow or brag about meeting President So-and-So from such and such country. Check the ‘photoops’ that are splashed all over government-owned media outlets on the return of the leader. What does a poor nation state bring to the table of the rich and powerful? For Guyanese to benefit from an Oil Industry, the Granger Administration needs to adopt policies of prudent financial and human resource management. To do so, the administration needs to appoint competent people, not hand-picked cronies, party loyalists and the unconscious incompetent. Merely telling Guyanese that the oil money would not be squandered is not good enough, when we all know that over 1.4 billion dollars was spent on a flag raising ceremony! And over 150 million dollars is still unaccounted for! The Granger Administration’s actions speak so loudly that I can hardly hear what he is saying. Yours Truly Concerned Citizen
response would be to publicize a little known means of ending all war and terrorism once and for all: Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). Throughout time, militaries have sought to achieve invincibility by applying ever-advancing technologies. History shows they have so far been unsuccessful. Adversaries inevitably devise methods to counter any system of offense or defense. However, there is a scientific, military field-tested solution which has arisen from the latest discoveries in the Unified Field theories of physics, neuroscience, and the social sciences—not from approaches utilizing weaponry, and not from the field of politics. INVINCIBLE DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY:ANONRELIGIOUS, HUMANE AND BENEFICIAL APPROACH The practical components of IDT are the non-religious Transcendental Meditation (TM) and the more advanced TM-Sidhi programs. When large groups of experts practice these programs together, a powerful field effect of coherence and peace is generated that spills over into the surrounding population. This effect has been shown in extensive scientific research that has repeatedly confirmed measurable decreases in war deaths, terrorism, and crime. Studies have also shown, for example, reductions in verbal hostilities and hostile acts, increased number of cooperative events, and other improvements in quality of life such as reduced accidents, hospital admissions, and infant mortality. These are all tangible signs of reduction of societal stress. Due to this research the non-profit organization Global Union of Scientists for Peace (GUSP) advocates this simple and costeffective approach for reducing social stress (see: https:// www.gusp.org/global-peacesummit). In highly stressed areas of the globe, establishment of large groups of experts practicing IDT has led to increased prosperity and economic growth, including a decrease in the “misery index,” an indicator of socioeconomic stress, and a significant increase in competitive growth. These positive changes in social trends have occurred concomitant with implementation of IDT approaches. This coherence-creating effect was documented on a
global scale in a study published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. When large assemblies of civilian IDT experts gathered during the years 1983-1985, terrorism-related casualties decreased 72%, international conflict decreased 32%, and overall violence was reduced in nations without intrusion by other governments (summaries of this research are available at: https:// d a v i d l e f f l e r. c o m / 2 0 11 / sapratableii). Due to these positive changes, militaries in South America and Africa are now actively field-testing this approach. They have already established IDT Prevention Wings of the Military to reduce crime, quell violence, create prosperity, prevent the rise of enemies, and create the conditions for lasting peace. INVINCIBLE DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY IS COST-EFFECTIVE For about the cost of a few modern fighter jets, any military could establish a group of 15,000 warriors trained in this advanced IDT approach. This Prevention Wing of the Military would practice IDT programs twice a day in large groups, which would defuse social tensions not only in their country but also globally. Studies indicate that, once such a program becomes operational, societal conditions in their country and other countries worldwide will immediately improve. The collective consciousness of all populations will rise through the influence of greater harmony and peace. Better solutions will occur to the people and their leaders for improving their own living conditions. Those who have engaged in violence will no longer do so. Studies have shown repeatedly that this method works—and will continue to work as long as the peace-creating group is maintained. IMPLEMENTATION The quickest and most effective way to implement this alternative would be for heads of states to issue an order to their militaries to deploy this new method. Once successfully implemented, a social phase transition would immediately begin in which the high societal stress which globally fuels crime, poverty, terrorism, and war would be alleviated. By greatly dissipating these formerly intractable problems nationally and globally, these heads of states would thereby be celebrated as great humanitarians and examples of global leadership. NOTHING ELSE HAS WORKED Given the many approaches (Continued on page 24)