Regional leadership of a particular kind
Kaieteur News – In a time of scary crisis, a regional leader has delivered, and is recognized for doing so under fire. According to the Trinidad Guardian, and as it is carried locally, “WHO Head praises fighting COVID-19 T&T” (KN February 19). In particular, the “Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom, has praised the Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley, for his leadership in managing the COVID-19 outbreak in T&T. “This is what Dr. Adhanom had to say to Dr. Rowley,” I… recognize that Trinidad and Tobago … have done very good in this pandemic and that’s because of your leadership. ” What about our leaders and where are they?
What the T&T Prime Minister has done speaks volumes on standards, as can be gleaned from the record, and this is due to the astuteness and courage of his leadership, both of which came from the conviction that must do whatever it took to protect his country and people. By contrast, almost a year later, and here, blame is branded with the new PPP government grabbing every occasion to point fingers at the coalition for poor performance. In turn, the coalition leadership is only too happy to return the favor with continued critical sniping from behind the barricades. While this is happening at Guyana’s leadership levels, the citizen is complying with rules in enforcement, and shaping himself when he pleases. We ship from a state that is antagonistic and struggles to find its depth, some moorings.
Now if only we could have our own leaders, like Dr. Rowley, stepping up and measuring up to what is practical, positive and progressive for everyone in this country, we could be so much wiser, so much better. They have to do with what is in the best interests of everyone in this country, unless they have not. Instead of the self-sacrificing, there is the self-help, the self-promotion, and the self-aggrandizing. They worry about what’s good for this country, as much as the foreigners who come here to reap wealth and wreck havoc. They have in mind what is good for this country, similar to what Maduro Venezuela has in mind. That is, what fulfills their personal priorities and visions.
The care and concerns of COVID-19 are another nuisance in the big picture that is more important to them; it disturbs oil cash, and their ceaseless corruption. However, it also reassures leaders and their people to benefit from making financial hay while the job is good. This is why this country is fading.
Although he was severely hit earlier, Dr. Rowley, gradually steered the state ship in Trinidad and Tobago and stayed the course with firm hands. That’s a man who cares about his people. That is a leader who is about his country first. And that’s where the WHO directorate sat down and thought about it, as it studied who was doing right, and who was doing so consistently well. Consistently good enough to be publicly praised, among other national leaders who did well. It is also a tribute to Jacinda Ahern of New Zealand, the Prime Minister of Israel, and a few more, who proved to be fearless and determined when the COVID-19 chip was down, and was they must be dealt with comprehensively and conclusively. .
If only we have such leaders in Guyana. We would like to reward ourselves with the rare luxury of fooling ourselves for a moment, and disguising the belief that we have them. But even that fleet blessing proves difficult for us Guyanese. We look, we hope, we trust and rely on it, all in vain. Because of the many disappointments that come, year after year, from leadership ranks. They sink us, they deceive us with the litany of ugliness they bring before us and dump on us, and then leave with us to mourn for the promises that have gone .
Oil has come, and Guyanese dreams go down, fade away, with them. We are not told anything that is relevant; therefore, we know less than we should, as leaders have made it their duty to be confidential and tight. Unity is a leadership trumpet that sounds sweet, but it’s more of the music that makes the hair stand on the back of the neck, than the reassuring, because there’s a movement towards to some degree of achievement. Accountability is a bright rose that is held high, except the reality of what is hidden and not cleared for consumption by the pregnant public.
This is what Guyana has and yet has got today. It is our curse and tragedy. Trinidad has a leader who is a neutral authority, like the WHO, who could hail such a different, so peculiar. That’s TT’s blessing and for his benefit.