Dear Editor,
Many of my fellow Guyanese think now that oil has been found we would be a rich nation. On the other hand, there are many of us who would say ask the citizens of Iraq, Libya, Syria, Nigeria, Uganda, Sudan, Venezuela, Brazil and Trinidad how well the oil trickle-down theory is working for them so far. Guyana’s oil wealth, in the view of many of us, would never trickle down to the masses. That wealth is reserved for those in power, and already rich and wanting to get richer.
Just look at the culture of Guyana and you can tell what would happen to the proceeds from oil. Oil wealth trickling down to the masses is nothing but a pipe dream. It has never happened in any Third World country, and will never happen here in my beloved land. This world is an extremely brutal place, I remain pessimistic about Guyana being an exception to the norm, as obtained in Third World countries with copious amounts of natural resources. Do we in Guyana have the metaphorical “brains and mindset” to keep the potential oil wealth in Guyana? For the time being, the jury is out on this matter!
Sincerely,
Rooplall Dudhnath
