WHEN the Government of the Republic of Guyana resumes its subvention to the Critchlow Labour College (CLC), it will be an act of good faith. It even goes beyond an act of good faith; rather, it is an assertion of its rights, as the government of the people of this country, to an institution that serves the people of that same country.
That is what a sensible government of any country does for the institutions that come under its administration; failing this would be a dereliction of duty.
So, this hullabaloo about the government wanting to control the CLC is utter trash! Government is just making its presence felt in another of those public institutions in which it is a major player.
The withdrawal of the subvention to this institution approximately one decade ago was fraught with much danger, the reasons being the government was booted out of the affairs of the College. Government was sidelined from having any say in the day-to-day operations of the College; hence it reacted with a withdrawal of its subsidy.
The culprits in this political game were the Opposition PNC and its partner in crime, the TUC. They were the ones who thought it best that the governing party should have no say in the way the College was run, their understanding of a labour college being a political entity set up to satisfy the whims and fancies of the Opposition.
It was their mistaken belief that the Critchlow Labour College is a college “owned” by that group of persons; therefore, from that point of reference, it should be a ‘hands-off government’ in anything done there.
Well, that silly notion soon caused a drying up of funding by its main contributor, the Government, and the stark reality soon set in. CLC ground to a screeching halt, and that institution was forced to close its doors.
Now that the subvention has been re-introduced, the same charlatans are at it again, citing, among other things, the return of a PPP Government “control” of the institution. Utter hogwash!
If Lincoln Lewis and company believe that CLC is a private institution, and it belongs to them, then why don’t they fund it? Why would they clamour for Government funding when they are the ones in control? If you want to be in control, then put your money where your mouth is. This is the asinine uttering of a confused political trade union.
Similar moves were made at another tertiary institution, the University of Guyana, when the operations there were politically disrupted by the said union and its acolytes. Here again, politically motivated action was drafted to keep the Government out. Those moves failed miserably, and so would the present ‘rantings’ as they relate to the Critchlow Labour College.
These guys are an incorrigible lot, and history is replete with their nonsensical arguments.
Government must play a pivotal role in all public institutions that come under its purview; and in light of the foregoing, Government has every right to assert itself on all matters there.
Neil Adams