Dear Editor,
I have been paying particular attention to comments made to my last two letters and cannot understand the anger and the harsh resistance to my suggestions by some persons. I am not discrediting Mr Lewis’s position [‘It is the institutions of the state which facilitate the pursuit of wealth’ SN, November 21). It is in no way my intension to “let the government off the hook” in relation to fulfilling its responsibilities to the masses. I am not suggesting that anyone stop his or her activism. What I am worried about is the disregard for the bigger picture and that is what I am addressing. My approach is to teach people to fish rather than beg for a fish.
Too many seem to think that wealth creation is a bad thing. There is a list of persons in the Bible whon God blessed with wealth. And mind you I realize that wealth is not the ‘be all and end all,’ but I would surely prefer to be wealthy and miserable than be miserable and broke.
I am particularly worried about the mindset of one blogger who represents the position of many. He is proud about being educated, having a million dollar home, driving an expensive car and educating his children. He is satisfied that he has made it. There is no mention of a sturdy financial foundation for the children.
As a people we are missing something. In Genesis the Lord promised Abram “exceeding great reward.” Note Abram immediately thinks about his heirs and not about himself. He did not have children so he was wondering what is the point of having a “great reward” when there are no offspring to receive it.
The point is that our forefathers lived by a principle, which suggests that the present generation is responsible for laying the foundation for future generations. Based on this principle the present generation would have received the baton from the previous generation. It is never about the present generation. This method prevents the cycle of the next generation constantly beginning from scratch. My parents left nothing for me except in some cases education, so I will not leave anything for my children and so on. Other cultures adapted this principle from our forefathers. Think we should give it a try? At least start the re-education?
Mr Lewis keeps pointing out some very unfortunate and disturbing incidents in the bauxite industry. I am not condoning this but can we move on? He never mentioned the forest lands given out to affected workers in the said communities. To take advantage of this there will be need for financial assistance. Can we address this?
There is a constant drumbeat that the investment climate is Guyana is totally dead to African Guyanese. There is no way to get investment going with this government. Not 100% accurate. I am very conscious of the loyalty of the party in office to its constituents, but my experience has not indicated a total wipe-out. Many take this position from hearsay but have not tried for themselves. Also, too often we ridicule the Africans in government and government offices rather than approach them in a professional manner for assistance. Most have latent influence and I am a testament to that. I must admit that my experience was not all smooth sailing, but there was not a cent of bribe in all of it. (I mention this because I know the way some people think.)
I prepared a business plan based on the President’s promise of duty-free concessions for investment in Region 10 and took it to the Ministry of Finance. I got the runaround. I approached the first Minister, who worked with me for a while before suggesting that I approach another Minister, who he felt had more influence. That Minister in my presence called the Finance Minister and I was directed to return to the person I was seeing all the time at that ministry.
That is when he gave me the right advice: “You don’t have to come to me first. Take this plan to Go-Invest.” He gave me a name at Go-Invest and everything fell into place. I left Guyana with my duty-free concession with the intention of attracting Guyanese investors. Well, eight years have passed and I am still out here.
The good news is that all is not lost. Over the years I have widened my knowledge about the potential of the forest industry. I have identified potential buyers for various products that can be and are produced in Guyana. I have identified foreign investors willing and waiting to invest but they are looking at the crime advisory.
I am looking forward to bringing investors to Guyana, to create jobs and raise the standard of living of all. Government creating jobs did not build America. It is about the government creating the environment for job creation and ordinary people putting their shoulders to the wheel to make it happen. In Guyana the environment is not perfect, but so it was at the beginning of the US.
Let’s be the pioneers, who turn our country around. Cross the bridges when we get there, build where there is none. Come on, we can do this. I was once a hire-car driver on the Georgetown/Linden route and Mr Lewis was my customer. Years later I was re-introduced to him by a student of mine named Elaine. I hope this jogs his memory.
Yours faithfully,
F. Skinner
