Every so often one comes upon a set of events that underline both the possibilities and the tragedy that is Guyana. Four such factors inspire this column: (1) The first objective of the Guyana National Service that was established in 1973; (2) the recent ‘historical’ signing of some 200 hundred contracts for infrastructure works in housing estates. (3) the notion that resource-rich countries require transformational planning; and (4) the nonsensical quarrel between the government and the opposition over the legitimacy of the former.