Dear Editor,
Guyana is indebted to both the Stabroek News and Kaieteur News for their diligent, independent reporting, without which we surely would have been duped by the PPP.
Sultan Mohamed (‘Dr Thomas lacks the experience…’SN, Jan 28) and similar detractors should consider directing their attention to more socially productive efforts, rather than engaging in unsound logic. They could for example, detail the PPP’s mismanagement of GuySuCo over the years, during the watch of various ministers of agriculture. Not to forget the decimation of the corporation’s sugar workers by its moribund decisions. As of late there has been no disclosure (of which I am aware) which shows how many families and the number of children who have had their lives disrupted by the mangling of GuySuCo’s management and interference in the corporation from the PPP. These people continue to suffer in silence.
Then there is China. (Not to be misinterpreted. I have no condescension for any race, and I love Chinese food.) Why has the PPP, after seeing the chaos wreaked by Europe, America, and how many other countries on this country through the virtual indentureship of its people and the engagement in unfair trade practices documented by America, embarked on giving the Chinese virtually unfettered access to Guyana’s markets? Is something wrong with the PPP? Are the businesses that are owned/operated by the Chinese nationals we see really privately owned, or are they funded by the Chinese government? This aside, Guyana’s businesses have already begun to feel the squeeze. At the rate the Chinese are going, Guyana’s commercial sector has about three to five years before we see some major closures/restructuring.
In the twenty odd years of government what has the PPP really done for our Amerindian peoples? Why do these people, whom our ancestors came and met, still have to be squabbling about land rights? Agreed, mining is important to our economic viability, but surely this could have been much better managed by the PPP government to avoid disagreements with our Amerindians, and the environmental degradation and abuses perpetrated on our Amerindian brothers and sisters. Included here are the contamination of the rivers and waterways which are an integral part of the Amerindian way of life. We do not have to mix our coffee with silt, mercury, faeces and urine to get an idea of what I am talking about, not to mention all the other rubbish carelessly dumped into these waterways. Our Amerindian folk are marvels from history, equal to us in every respect. We do not need the police or constabulary to change our coarse treatment of their environment. We just do it ourselves. We wouldn’t want anyone coming into our homes and making a mess of them.
Over the last few weeks I have realized that I have to take a lighter approach to things. I must say that I have now become fascinated and more and more amused by the many and varied instances of government corruption, from outright fraud, it seems, to the misuse of taxpayer dollars through contracts which are not transparent. More marvellous is the fact that the perpetrators continue in their places of employment. These sagas and their actors are beginning to compete with the cartoons of the Asterix & Obelix series I read as a teenager.
Looking on the brighter side, into the future, we can have a government run by the APNU/AFC, which is committed to completely stamping out corruption. We can have a government focused on job creation and generating higher incomes, which will result from the increased demand for workers from a vibrant, growing private sector. Our small businesses and entrepreneurs will benefit from programmes designed to generate success from these crucial sources of economic growth and employment opportunities.
We can have cheaper electricity with the implementation of a viable hydropower plant, or possibly through arrangements with Trinidad (I’ve seen something of this sort recently). Foreign corporations will flock to our shores to benefit from our vast resources and educated work force. We can have a Guyana where our foreign debt will be paid off and we can all live in prosperity. Our Amerindians will also have their rights as priority in their territories.
We can have a Guyana we can truly call paradise. One in which our grandparents, ourselves and our children, will be happy to spend our remaining days. We can have all of this. We just have to make that change.
Yours faithfully,
Craig Sylvester
