While the appeal of the President of the Guyana Tourism and Hospitality Association (THAG), Mitra Ramkumar, for reopening the various entertainment venues is perfectly predictable, even understandable, the point cannot be made too strongly that such consideration is not given i The appeal of THAG must be set against the objective conditions which ensure, that is, those conditions relating to the circumstances of the pandemic and the threat that it continues to pose, on the one hand and on the on the other hand, the situation in which the entertainment sector finds itself.
The pronouncements attributed to Mr Ramkumar point out that, firstly, bars and places of entertainment have been closed for more than eight months (which, frankly, is not quite accurate) and secondly, that a grace period allowed by the Bank Guyana and commercial banks for those indebted places of entertainment to begin repaying their debts, is nearing the designated deadline available.
The hard, cold facts of the entertainment sector’s circumstances can be considered here. It is not just a matter of what, over the months, has been a circumstance of a substantial loss of earnings for the owners of these various business houses, but also a matter of job losses, in the shorter and longer term for the those employees. who are either permanently covered or removed from their positions.
The other side of the coin, of course, is the authorities’ general obligation to do everything they can to ensure that the procedures and protocols involved in pushing back the pandemic are not compromised on their for them. no reason at all from the yuletide festivities.
There is considerable evidence to suggest that some business houses (and these range from the established and nascent shops to the corner shops and ‘mood-talking’) have been paying little attention to the protocols and prohibitions that linked to public entertainment during the pandemic season. the duration of the pandemic.
It is questionable whether the various Business Support Organizations (BSOs) have been loud enough to support the protocols and prohibitions. More to the point some of the crimes of captivity have been blatant, barefoot, and reflect a contempt for official authority. Worryingly, there have even been suggestions that some of the wrongdoings are ‘covered’ by what one might call an official exemption.
This newspaper has already stated, from the outset, that no one had ever been given the impression that law enforcement was ever ‘on its game’ as long as the policing of captives and a multitude of reasons had been developed for his alleged failure to do so. Baseline … we need to ask ourselves whether the entertainment sector, as a whole, has made a persuasive case for granting the waiver that THAG is now seeking, due to its stance towards the protocols that linked to efforts to end the pandemic. and even if that case can be made, for the sake of debate, whether any exemption or immunity can be guaranteed to limit itself to the limits allowed at this turbulent time of the year or that revelers will indulge in what Guyanese typically describes as “the spirit of the season” and damn the results to hell.
All that being said, legitimate concerns should not be thrown off a bona fide part of the private sector, which, among other things, is creating employment. The first thing to be said here is that there should be immediate official intervention, involving the banks, the PSC, and the government to address the issue of extending the repayment deadline further loans. That is likely to be a testing discourse but it is probably the best option for a decision that simply throws caution to the wind.
One can, of course, anticipate a result that, arguably, permits a special dispensation for some entertainment houses based on pre-determined and strictly supervised protocols. And that, of course, is almost certain to arouse protest from the smaller ‘players’ in the entertainment industry whose offerings, often delivered on the streets, are almost certain to be much less controlled. Here, the authorities need to guard against accusations of prejudice.
Today is Christmas Day. The big entertainment events would have already started although we are not the wisest in the order in which these occur. The reality is, however, that whatever THAG, the private sector, or the entertainment houses themselves want, COVID-19 is still ramping up and there can be no question of us allowing the seasonal entertainment activities familiar get. That would amount to completely reckless governance.