Dear Editor,
I congratulate those hundreds of brave cane-cutters in Berbice for their protest action against VAT. King Jagdeo should know that Guyanese are not prepared to enter 2008 with this vampire tax on our shoulders. Lower class, middle class and even the once comfortable upper class are crying out for help.
The late President Cheddi Jagan once accused the business community of being “blood suckers.” I assume that he must be turning in his grave now to see that the party he left behind is now in the hands of heartless men.
However, I think that enough is enough and the nation must send a strong message to the king and his men… and that message is, ‘we wouldn’t sit down and take it any longer’. It’s time for massive protest action, so, let’s join with those brave cane-cutters in Berbice and shut the country down. I am calling on all businesses to close your stores for two days, vendors, mini bus drivers, civil servants all should stay home, cane-cutters throughout the country should down tools etc. When should this be done? Let’s begin on Monday, December 17. Let everything be done in a peaceful manner. Any suggestions, feel free to contact me at markbenschop@yahoo.com.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Benschop
