4
guyana-times.com
SunDAY, JUly 17, 2016
Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotliine: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544 223-7230,223-7231,231-0544, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com
Editorial
New Age Reading T
here has been much handwringing recently about the state of reading in our country. Things have got so bad, according to some, that we may be witnessing its actual demise. And we are not just referring to the reading of books. Few today would conceive that in the middle of the last century we had more than a half-a-dozen newspapers – including one evening edition. One may hear (since we do not read) that we are not alone in this predicament: the developed countries have conducted reams of research to demonstrate the declining place reading occupies in the lives of citizens. The usual suspects have been identified – TV, video games, I-Pods, smart phones and all the other gadgets that compete, and have evidently displaced books, for our spare time. It would seem that we are following an inevitably trend. But what is that trend, and is it necessarily bad for us? At its most fundamental level, reading was simply a revolution in communications that occurred several thousand years ago, when mankind invented writing. Before that, we humans were communicating via speech for tens of thousands of years. Writing and reading were not immediately enthusiastically embraced. We note Plato’s record (in writing!) of Socrates’ complaint that writing would weaken memories and the power of reasoning and questioning. And in acknowledgement of such critiques, the elements of the oral tradition -- memorisation, rhetoric, recital - were preserved over the millennia. The invention of the printing press some 500 years ago further revolutionised communication by making books much more easily available to everyone in society. This created its own storm of protests: would the great unwashed masses have the discipline to imbibe the processes of thinking to make use of the knowledge contained in the books? We invented schools and libraries – not to mention popularisers called “magazines” and “newspapers” - to accomplish that task. Reading became part and parcel of our tradition: books signified “civilization”. But the development in sophistication and efficiency of books to transmit information created its own inexorable impetus. Before long, we were plunged through the invention of the telegraph and the telephone in the 19th century into the present revolution in communications represented by radio, movies, TV, computers and the internet, etc. And we return to the question of the fate of reading in an era of instantaneous electronic communications. Our intent in outlining the changes in communication methodologies is to emphasise the inevitable nostalgia engendered when we move from one dominant form into another. The point we want to make is that we cannot remain stuck in the past: when it comes to human affairs, change is inevitable. In grappling with the technique of communication we cannot lose sight of the intent of communication. Contrary to the popular aphorism, we cannot afford for the medium to become the message. Human advances and success have been based on our ability to communicate knowledge gained by one generation to succeeding generations in ever-increasingly faster ways. This is salutary in view of the exponential growth in our knowledge base. Rather than decrying the reduced prevalence of reading and insist like Socrates about retaining the oral tradition, we have to marry the old tradition of books and reading to the new vistas open to us. It is perhaps ironic that the newer modes of communication may revive the foundations of the older oral tradition. If the reading of books decreases, to cope successfully with the explosion of information in the modern world, we may have to stress the importance of memorisation. Our educational system will have to become au fait with the potential of the new technologies and combine them with the benefits of reading. The secret is not to insist on rote memorisation of arcane facts but on the ability to reason with and manipulate those facts that are now available literally at our fingertips.
Guyanese artist Winslow Craig hard at work on one of his hard wood carvings which will be erected in the compound of the Umana Yana. The design of the peace will take the form of a symbol representative of the nine Amerindian tribes in Guyana. The head is a symbol of the great spirit, Machinima, while on the reverse side, there will be a representation of the 10 administrative regions of Guyana. "It is a pole that represents the people of Guyana", Craig said. He began working on the 55 foot piece over two weeks ago and is expected to complete it in time for Heritage Month
Taxation and fear: A recipe for economic decline Dear Editor, It was Winston Churchill who said: “I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” Recently, Finance Minister Winston Jordan reported that Central Government’s revenues totalled $53.4 billion at the end of April 2016. According to him, this represents an increase of $3 billion compared to revenue collections during the same period last year. The minister attributes this increase in revenue collection on “tightening up at ports, new focus on the regions and a clampdown on illegal activities.” The minister reports that tax revenues increased by $2.1 billion when compared to the same period in 2015. According to the minister, VAT revenues, however, continued to decline. For the period under review, that is, January to April 2016, these revenues showed a decline of 6.3% compared to the levels achieved during the same period in 2015. Apart from increased revenue in the collection of rent and royalties in the gold mining sector, there is no other report from the minister regarding the productive sector. It is painfully obvious that this government places an over-reliance on taxation. In its first full budget, the 2016 Budget, it increased 140-odd public
taxes, in certain instances as high as 1200%. They have removed VAT exemptions from all capital equipment in the major productive sectors which hitherto enjoyed VAT exemptions, namely, agriculture, mining, and forestry. They have imposed duties on imported raw materials for the manufacturing sector that were free from duties under the PPP/C Government. The President and several of his ministers have publicly expressed the view that the regime of tax concessions put in place by the PPP/Civic Administration to attract investments is too generous and will be reviewed with a view to downsizing them. In fact, Go-Invest and the Guyana Revenue Authority have been instructed to put these concessions “on hold.” In Regions Five and Six, employees of the GRA are doing house-to-house inspection and if it is found that there are more than two “banks” of vegetables under cultivation in any yard, the head of the household is documented as engaging in a “commercial activity”, presumably for the purpose of taxation. This same mentality has polluted their representatives at the level of the Georgetown City Council, hence the parking meter fiasco and the public announcement that there will soon be an increase in rates and taxes. Against the backdrop of this emphatic pursuit to
tax the populace, one quickly realises that this government’s obsession with the GRA is not an aberration but the interference is deliberate and institutional. Lest I convey the wrong impression, I wish to make it clear that I appreciate the importance of taxation in the economic equation of a nation. However, the cold hard truth is that real economic growth comes not from taxation but from production, productivity and job creation. The economy of every great nation was built not on taxation but by production, commerce, trade and industrialisation. The taxation policy and system must be such that it encourages, facilitates and engenders the growth and expansion of these sectors. As these sectors grow and expand they will yield increased taxes but in the process they create jobs and generates all the benefits which come with job creation. In order to fully encourage these sectors to achieve their optimum potential, there are economies in the world which offer tax free regimes to the extent that even personal income tax is not payable. This government’s policy is situated at the other end of the spectrum. So while the treasury boasts of increased collection of taxes, there is a decline in production, trade, commerce, manufacturing and service-oriented industries - all of which are inte-
gral to real economic growth and job creation. This economic paralysis is exacerbated by frightening statements emanating from the head of SARU, Dr Clive Thomas, weekly about who will be charged and who will be jailed and the actions of SOCU, which conduct unconstitutional and arbitrary searches of business premises and seize therefrom large amounts of cash, jewellery, and confidential financial information. These are two rogue organisations operating from within the Ministry of Presidency, without any legal bases whatsoever, carrying out the political directions of those in government. The once powerful Private Sector Commission which was so ready to publicly pounce on the PPP/C administration at the drop of a hat, has now become mute in fear. A businessman wants to legally challenge the new imposition of a parking fee of $20,000 by the City Council of Georgetown in respect of containers, which is charged even where the container is there only for a few hours to discharge cargo. However, he is afraid to use his name in the legal proceedings because of reprisals. Fear has returned to Guyana. This time it’s not generated by the bandits but by the Government.
Sincerely, Mohabir Nandlall, MP Attorney
Anil