Guyana Observer News

President Jagdeo leaves office at age 47

Monday, 04 May 2009

In August 2011, Mr. Jagdeo demits office. He would be 47 years of age. Mr. Jagdeo has secured a phenomenal package of retirement benefits that will no doubt see “millions” of Guyanese rushing to join the political parties so that one day they will become President of the land. The retirement goodies of Mr. Jagdeo may also force ambitious Guyanese to form political parties in the hope that they will win the presidency. Now imagine that from 47 years of age, Mr. Jagdeo could hold down any amount of high-paying jobs and he will not contribute one cent to the Treasury because he is exempted from paying income tax

Imagine after he reaches the age of 47, Mr. Jagdeo will have his eye glasses, dental facilities and all medical resources free of cost for the rest of his life. So he can visit the dentist as often as he wants. He can changes lenses and frames as often as he wants.

He can make use of all the high technology that medical science offers from 47 years of age and not pay a cent for it. Now, depending on the size of his real estate, he can request two gardeners and a handyman.

The government of the day cannot refuse his request for two drivers and two maids. He can also employ any amount of teachers he wants to have them deliver private lessons to his children. His spouse and children can access all the state of the art technology in the medical field free of cost

Now, Mr. Jagdeo can have at his disposal a fleet of vehicles of which there is no specifications. I am reading the Bill as I type and I see no engine restrictions. This means Mr. Jagdeo can have in his garage a few SUVs. A school of body guards can be around him because again, the Bill does not list the number of guards he can have.

He can also request a few researchers if he is interested in writing a manuscript since the Bill makes provisions for him to secure the services of clerical and technical personnel

Depending on his life style, he can chalk up a huge electricity charge which will be paid by the government. If his private garden is large, he can leave the rotating hose on all day to keep the soil moist and that water bill will be paid by the state. If he likes to party, then the cost of the clean up exercise will not come from out of his pocket.

As you read about more of these prodigious benefits, Mr. Jagdeo will get, the moral dimensions of life come into play.

Here is a President that presides over one of the world’s poorest states with the strong possibility that with rising sympathy for Haiti in the White House, Haiti may move up the ladder leaving Guyana as the poorest nation in the Americas. Yet this President sees it to provide for his income after he leaves office but have thousands and thousands of public servants ending their career at age 55

Only Janet Jagan openly called for the retirement age to be upped to 65. I was not impressed with Mrs. Jagan’s plea when she wrote about that in her column. It may have just been a hypocritical moment from her because why with all that power she had in her party, she didn’t get her party which runs the country to table legislation to up the retirement age to the level she wanted it.

If a person retires at 55, he/she cannot have NIS cheques because they start coming in at age 60. If assessing the desires of Mr. Jagdeo so he can live in comfort from age 47, the morbid unfairness that the state perpetuates on retirees makes this Bill highly obnoxious

If there is anything that I will demand when election time comes around is that this nasty piece of legislation be thrown out of this land with furious intensity. It does not deserve to be on the statute books within the context of the present retirement age that the Government of Guyana is refusing to alter. Any party that gets my vote will have to publicly proclaim that it will dissolve this Bill.

If there isn’t a party that is not courageous enough to make such a public declaration, then I am not voting. I call on my fellow Guyanese to demand that they press the parties of their choice to give the public a sincere request that they will do away with this legal hypocrisy if they should win the 2011 general elections.

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