Dear Editor,
The de facto State organ of the government of the day, Guyana Chronicle, reported on August 19, 2021: “VICE-PRESIDENT, Bharrat Jagdeo, has received two separate certificates of Special Congressional Recognition from the United States of America” for “…promoting friendship and economic exchange between the United States of America and the Republic of Guyana….” And for “his commitment to the environment, sustainable development, and green energy.”
Granted. Bharrat Jagdeo was a ‘Hero of the Environment’ (2008) and ‘Champion of the Earth’ (2010) for efforts in the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project and Low Carbon Development Strategy. Over ten years hence. Now, there appears to be a retrograde somersault vis-à-vis Bharrat Jagdeo’s role in fossil fuel/gas exploration, and the wholesale avaricious and rapacious devastation of Guyana’s natural patrimony. It appears to me that the bestowers were/are not aware of Mr. Jagdeo’s role in the current state of affairs of Big Oil in Guyana. Maybe they were not advised; maybe they were ignorant of all the facts of Jagdeo’s role; maybe they were deniers; either blind or myopic and/or and hypocritical. Maybe some or all of the above.
On July 9, 2021, Guyana Chronicle reported, “President Ali says nations share common goals … for committing to the reduction of greenhouse emissions by 50 per cent by the year 2030.”
In a very good article, Guyana Chronicle (July 25, 2021) touted, on World Mangrove Day, the value of mangrove in the ecosystem; yet the government is deliberately destroying mangrove trees to make way for Big Oil and Gas.
Also, Stabroek News (May 11, 2021) carried a piece, “Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill [stubbornly] defended the removal of mangroves at Versailles-Malgre Tout, West Bank Demerara, for the development of an oil and gas shore base as necessary…” for development (sic) and “to facilitate and properly service what is taking place in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone.”
My comments:
These high-ranking individuals seem to be fixated in a Kafkaesque bureaucratic surrealist never-never land, devoid of the facts and reality, of truth and truthfulness. They make statements espousing green energy, CO2 emission reduction, and acknowledging climate change and emergency. To the contrary, they act and do things inimical to the basic principles and dire warnings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The actions do not always match faithfully with the words!
The PPP has always stood firmly on the side of democratic principles. They support the working class people especially, the ordinary grassroots – for bread and justice. Gradually, those lofty ideals, foundational in the PPP, are alas being eroded, and mutely replaced by a neoliberal mantra, Jagdeo being the prime mover.
The year is 2021, but it seems like 1984. Beware of “double speak”. Truth is based on empirical analysis, but truthfulness is based on principles, virtuousness and honour.
I wrote the following in October 2007: Exploitation of Guyana’s Resources, “The current PPP government must not betray the people and the land, but should stand tall and steadfast to the principle of good governance… and to call for a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach.”
The PPP has done lots of good and continues to do good in many aspects of life in Guyana. It must now continue to be the standard-bearer. And not be misguided! Every major publication and organization in the world recognize that Climate Change: [is] An Existential Threat, (quoting Guyana Chronicle editorial (August 15, 2021). Ha!
We are reminded by Martin Luther King, Jr., “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
I end with these enduring words of John Wesley:
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
Yours truly,
Gary Girdhari
