Dear Editor,
It is great to see that we are importing talent to help with our infrastructure needs. We must however keep in mind that the development of our internal capabilities is paramount. Teaching our military’s core of engineers to build our infrastructure, and the houses needed by our people, should encourage the correct decision-making when awarding infrastructure projects. Carving out a percentage of the national infrastructure budget to develop our in-house capabilities is a good strategic approach to foster our internal development. Capping the margins that a company is allowed to make on government contracts at 20% would also allow for better cost management and improved contract allocation, thus spreading the wealth and allowing local firms to continue to develop their capabilities. Having an aspirational goal of each family being able to build their own house would be the equivalent of teaching our people how to fish vs. going overseas and buying fish to give them to eat.
We must look internally first and see the opportunities to strengthen our own people before giving away our precious resources to others who do not have a vested interest in our development. From my travels and experience, I have clearly seen that those loyal to their own culture will never change their loyalty in favour of those who are opponents to others that share their culture. Our neighbours increase within our borders and our borders continue to remain porous. Wealth is lost in the south due to smuggling and land is lost to the east due to occupation and covert migration operations. We must remain vigilant and ensure that our own people do not lose opportunities to those that oppose us. I have witnessed the disrespect handed out to the Amerindian, on his own land, by those who have worked for them for many years. We cannot afford to develop a disloyal group of citizens that will turn against us when the opportunity arises. For these, and many other reasons not mentioned, I ask the current administration to please consider focusing more on developing the capabilities of our military and our people before looking externally for suppliers of our infrastructure and housing needs. Our people are in need of jobs and these are shovel ready jobs that they can quickly benefit from, thus, giving our fellow Guyanese an opportunity to earn an honest living and allowing them to provide for their families.
We must also keep in mind that some industries are more prone to corruption and organized crime than others. Unfortunately, construction is one of those industries that attracts criminal activity, and for this reason, we do not need our military excluded nor do we need to create a foothold for the Sindicato who have already shown their disrespect along our western border. Our award winning rum will continue to grow as our economy and region grows in attractiveness to travelers. Europe has been loyal to the beauty and experiences of Guyana. We must not underestimate the importance of continuing to develop that relationship in areas of trade and development. Our cultures are more aligned and our mutual understanding and respect have grown stronger over the years. Our Amerindian brothers and sisters continue to be loyal to our country and no outsider should be allowed to create internal strife amongst our people. We must remain vigilant and closely monitor those who are closer to our declared enemies. Peace can be attained if those amongst us and those we invite to be amongst us show respect for our multicultural society and align with our government’s agenda in lieu of pushing a hidden agenda that opposes the one Guyana (including Essequibo) initiative.
We are a hardworking people and no challenge before us is too great for us to achieve as one people. The time has come for Guyanese to show their strength and build Guyana for our fellow Guyanese. Then this land of our ancestors will truly be ours into perpetuity.
Sincerely,
Jamil Changlee
Chairman
The Cooperative Republicans of
Guyana