Welcome again to one of my “time-out” days when I promise – or attempt – to be most brief. And please find it possible to forgive my repetitive lamentation – waffle? – inherent in my lead issue today – I think it’s the Fanon expression which he might have inherited. Whose disastrous lifelong “privilege” has it been to be deemed the wretched of the earth? This world and this planet?
I do not hear about it a lot, so I can only suspect that there might be poor, economically-challenged and struggling working-class members of societies such as, say, Sweden, Germany, Israel, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Iceland, Finland, South Korea and Panama.
I have no challenge in recognising instances of stark poverty, need and suppression in scores of African, Asian and Latin American States and societies. Yes people of colour, for numerous, varied reasons seem to be the chosen victims aptly described as the “wretched of this earth”.
This unequal world needs water and wood. Most societies seem characterized by classes. Class develops and is structured according to how a country’s resources – its wealth – whether human, financial, service or natural – are distributed. I suppose other factors like racial origins “pedigree”, ethnic collectives, religion and all its varied beliefs also influence class. The manipulation of the Capitalist System swiftly determines your class and station in life. Rich and poor are easily defined and recognisable. So much so that the drawers of water and hewers of wood never get to enjoy what the production of the water and the wood produces. They merely produce; they don’t own.
So what brought about my distress over ‘the Black Man’s Burden’? Strange perhaps, it was the drive around the East Bank, Demerara last Sunday morning.
East Bank, Sunday Morning….
Uncharacteristically, most unusually, I had to be in the quaint little Moravian Church, in Queenstown, Georgetown early last Sunday. Afterwards I was taken to see specific developments on the East Bank Demerara.
Those who traverse that East Bank Highway every day must encounter the trucks in the traffic. Big trucks, trailers, vans, lorries, low-beds. They, of course, fetch everything related to Guyana’s production: rice, sugar, sand, foodstuff, poultry feed, milk, fuel etcetera. The names of the owners of those vehicles tell a simple, most significant story. Ninety-five per cent—if not all—are owned by persons and companies with names typical of Indo-Guyanese.
Okay, so what’s my big deal about that reality? Well friends, again I wondered what social history caused Guyanese of African descent to veer towards human-resources-type professions solely; to the extent that when emancipation liberated their forefathers from slaving for others, and after their village-movement and agricultural pursuits, post-1838, were sabotaged, other Guyanese monopolized agriculture and commerce and various natural resources—the lifeblood of economic sustenance.
I won’t repeat my ‘whatever-happened-to-black-business’ theme; nor would I mockingly ask: How many Afro-Guyanese own really large pharmacies, bakeries, gold dredges, sand pits, auto dealerships, banks and agricultural lands and farms? (I do so every African Heritage/Black History month.) I now leave that to those African-specific representative organisations. I’m left to hope, continually, that besides engendering pride over past origins and achievements, they inspire and spearhead economic ventures to point “Africans” to true self-reliant prosperity.
On the other hand I ask myself: why can’t Afro-Guyanese own many, many trucks along that East Bank Highway? The Banks don’t lend to Afros? Okay save up your Diaspora contributions and buy a truck even if it takes three/four years! Others do that. Persevere, whatever is stacked against you. (The truck is merely my symbol.)
East Bank projects… The Afro-Hotel…
My Sunday morning drive was revealing, even if belated. The road itself, Frankly Speaking, is a symbol of our under-development—stops, starts, delays, explanations, work at regular times only.
But wherever their funding is derived from, some folks are constructing some massive ‘gated communities,’ the major one being the Chinese New Life Estate aback the National Stadium. The high-priced little mansions will attract their own types as America is imported to the East Bank Demerara. No wonder the Brigadier’s APNU wants to find out how the Chinese developers—Sunset Lakes—acquired such a massive chunk of East Bank real estate and how close they are to Baishanlin.
I saw Windsor, Elaineville (this one owned by one of the few Afro’s either favoured or moneyed; Pacific Development/Everest Construction is building ‘gated communities’ in all three counties! Lucky, wealthy enough to secure the land? I saw the smaller, more humble working-class houses, turn-key and “professionals”, and thought about socio-economic class-structure once more.
Yet again I cringed on my Sunday-morning drive-about when I noted that Chinese Baishanlin bought and was using what should have been an Afro-Guyanese American-owned hotel behind the Princess as a kind of dormitory! I made that my final stop.
Development: Two perspectives
This is just to motivate those citizens with time and interest to indulge themselves in really studying the two perspectives of national development since 1992.
The October anniversary of the PPP/C in government naturally finds them celebrating their achievements after 22 years. Of course there had to be ‘good things’ done over two decades. From democracy to massive country-wide infrastructural projects, gold production, investments and medical/educational “advances”, the PPP reminds us.
But daily letter-writing critics like Asquith Rose and Harish Singh have quantified billions of our dollars allegedly wasted. I was attracted to persuasive comments a few days ago by Dr C Kenrick Hunte. I can do no better than quote an excerpt. You decide after reading: “I read your article (SN 10-11-2014) caption, ‘Rice cereal factory still to be built’ and noted several claims being made about the profitability of this so-called project. I call it so-called because it fits neatly into the same pattern of half-baked ideas, such as: the high-cost road to Amaila Falls without confirmed financing for both; the start of the Marriott Hotel without confirmed financing and Court challenges; the many unending technical and labour problems of Skeldon and the packaging plant; the Airport runway lengthening project with soil testing after construction commenced, a brilliant design blemish; incomplete law books; unqualified contractors; questionable procurement practices; the huge waste of tax payer money in the President’s Youth Choice Initiative; the specialty hospital of alleged corruption and Court challenges; the Hope (less) Canal; the building of the East Bank road for several years must be a record for road building anywhere; poor construction and maintenance to bridges, wharves, sea defence and kokers that malfunction or collapse soon after commissioning… The list of ill-conceived, poorly designed and executed projects is endless, with some structured as a cart before the horse, or a horse with no cart.
The link among these projects are design flaws; unsecured financing; procurement troubles; no timely oversight and a late Auditor General Report where no real corrective action is subsequently observed.”
Ponder…
*1) Surely helpful, but why such crude politicking? Very needy parents who pay taxes are given $10,000 vouchers for registered school children. It’s their taxes they are getting back! Why are they needy in the first place?
*2) So who’s to get the big Customs House building next to Palm Court on Main Street? Government retains? Or some dude gains?
Til next week!
(allanafenty@yahoo.com)
