Professor Ivelaw Griffith, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Guyana Wednesday evening described Guyana as a corrupt society and said that many Guyanese don’t respect the order of the day.
“We don’t have to pretend that we want to be politically correct in not talking about our corrupt society,” he said at an event to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Nelson Mandela.
Professor Griffith said that he has been trying to push a campaign on values, among them, integrity and honesty; that brought him to the topic of corruption.
“The corruption within our society, the dishonesty…is not simply at a government level or a private sector level, it is across our society,” he stated.
He added: “We have got to be bold enough to recognise that if we want to let the light shine on others, and talk about the importance of being honest, their having integrity, we need to let the light shine on ourselves and embrace the value, practice integrity.”
Further, the Principal of the University of Guyana, said as Guyanese we disrespect our own rules and disrespect ourselves.
“Just look at how we pay little attention to respect for what is the order; you may not like the government of the day, but until that government of the day is changed, it is incumber on all of us, to respect the order of the day,” he declared.
He continued, saying that Guyanese respect the rules abroad more than they do at home.
“The sad reality is that many Guyanese, many of us, show demonstrable disrespect for our own rules and our own society, but the minute we get up and go on a plane to the United States or Britain, we exercise due deference and respect the rules there,” he stated.
Professor Griffith said it is important that the University of Guyana begins the conversation and practice of values.
He said respect is one of the values that is very important to Guyanese society where there is a pluralism, and that lack of respect for each other could lead to self-destruction.
