Dear Editor,
Two items form the centrepiece of the PPP’s campaign- Amaila Falls and hydro power and the 20 billion (100 million US dollars) for the sugar industry along with a host of big, expensive projects which will leave the populace of our country with a huge debt on our children and grandchildren.
And while all these big, expensive projects are done let us examine the only true record we have in front of us- the Skeldon sugar complex where all expectations are dissipated, even by the PPP government and which should have been built by the British who know more about sugar than anyone else.
Where is there any sign for the diversification of agriculture to invest in other products and make the farmer a very important contributor to our economy-instead all we hear about is sugar and rice. Mr. Ramotar promises things he has and had the power to implement for years now so why is he promising the heavens now, like the $20 billion for the sugar industry, which will not, in any way, save this industry from increasing competition and new technology from the world markets. The PPP government is not following the dictates of President Cheddi who always talked about diversification of our agricultural base – government should be giving tax concessions and subsidies to farmers to encourage new production of diverse agri-products for export and local consumption. Instead, it’s only rice and sugar. Whose legacy are they following-it certainly is not my father’s.
The big project at Amaila Falls calls into question some considerations, apart from the financial arrangements which are extremely suspicious, especially after the Fip Motilall scandal and the huge loss to the taxpayer for a road which ,in all likelihood, will have to be re-done if this hydro project goes through. Jagan and Burnham both believed in smaller hydro projects rather than one huge project- President Cheddi, in the 1960s talked about Tiger Falls on the Demerara and President Forbes tried to build hydro at Tumatumari. The concept of smaller hydro dams, spread throughout the country, is one which Canada has and it works because- here in Guyana, transmission lines from such a remote area as Amaila are very expensive and difficult to maintain – just look at the condition of Georgetown and we can see that this government gets a D- grade for maintenance- of our roads, sea defences, irrigation, school grounds and almost everything else. Smaller hydro projects will all have easier transmission because between Moca, Tumatumari, Tiger and other falls on the Berbice they can feed into Linden and bring that community back from the doldrums, where the present PPP government, with the help of PM Hinds, put it.
Whose legacy are they following-it certainly is not my father’s.
Editor, at the back of Amaila Falls, will be a lake approximately 8×8 miles (64 sq.miles) which will act as a reservoir of water to run the generators when the rivers feeding Amaila (Kuribrong and Amaila) Falls run dry parts of the year. This lake will destroy much timber and worse yet, all the recovery of precious metals (diamonds, gold and who knows what else) will be lost to the Guyanese people. Also, with climate changes and human miscalculations, we, the Guyanese citizens, have to wonder about this lake being in proximity to our most treasured interior location, the Kaieteur National Park. The concept of smaller but spread out hydro projects which would require no lakes, be along roads which are already established and cost less overall is something the people of Guyana should examine.
Editor, this PPP government only is concerned with big things to impress the small man with “shock and awe”- the Marriott (where the average worker can’t even afford a drink of water); the Berbice bridge (a 1950 concept bridge which is always empty because the small man can’t afford the toll); Skeldon sugar factory (the wastage of money and the continued hardships on the workers of a failing industry}. Meanwhile, the small things, the everyday dreams of the working poor, like good drinking water, ball-fields in villages for our youths, free lunches for our poorer kids and buses to take them to and from school- do not exist and yet they shout about the big things, even manufacturing Jagans who are not like my father, but rather drink soup and talk nonsense about the PPP continuing Jagan’s legacy.
Editor, whose legacy the current PPP is following?- it certainly not my father’s- the venerable President Cheddi- a leader who always stood by the small man, not the big shots and their big shot attitudes.
Yours faithfully,
Cheddi (Joey) Jagan (Jr.)