A conference and expo of aspirations and projections was held at the Marriott Hotel this week. Dreams were sold, bought, and realized. The faces of visionaries were shadows on the walls, illuminated with joy and hope and the voices of optimism and courage addressing the gatherings rose to a crescendo. Seeds were planted by hands already heavy with dosh, ensuring that their generations not born yet would never walk in destitution. Seeds were also planted by hands now gathering coins, young and vibrant ones, older and anxious ones perhaps some thinking that they failed to accomplish their goals by a certain age and that it was their final chance. Some perhaps seeking to integrate into the world where the wants and needs for existing in this time are never felt with fear, for there is no worry about financial freedom; a place where the big ones gather, one and two percenters deluding themselves into thinking only they own the Earth and seemingly forgetting that in death we are all equal.
The International Energy Conference and Expo was held under the theme ‘Charting a Sustainable Energy Future’. Participants were expected to benefit by:
– Being updated on local, regional, and
international projects.
– Fostering new business relationships and
strategic alliances through networking.
– Highlighting company strengths to all major
purchasers of goods and services and a wide
cross section of both local and international
service companies and contractors.
– Receiving timely and useful information to help
plan short and medium-term business strategies.
Heads of states, government officials, CEOs, entrepreneurs and those eager to learn about and benefit from Guyana’s oil wealth all assembled at the Marriott for this spectacular event. Key players in Guyana’s oil industry, like ExxonMobil’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Darren Woods, were present. The parliamentary opposition were not officially invited to participate in the conference and purchased tickets to attend the exhibition.
We cannot build ‘One Guyana’ if those who are supposed to represent half of the people are not key players in charting the course of Guyana’s future. ‘One Guyana’ should not only be a concept. These campaigns have too often played on our emotions, stymied our growth, and can further divide the people. When the Guyanese people see genuine efforts where all are involved in charting the course, then we will believe. Too many words are spoken that are meant to inspire us but are like water off a duck’s back because history informs us, and the present is teaching us, as the majority linger on the cusp of realizing the Guyanese dream and the future remains uncertain.
At the inauguration President Irfaan Ali said “Local growth and increased productivity must be built into the system to benefit the people.”
The people of Guyana cannot wait decades for the benefits from oil. The needs of the people are an emergency as too many are hurting, distressed and desperate. The book of Guyana’s developmental path has reverted to page one too often. All the new beginnings have led us to this place, still, where most of the people are in danger of never realizing their full potential and in danger of dying without the dignity of being oiled in what the Earth has provided as their birthright.
While there are local companies at the expo who are benefitting from oil production, the average man in the street has seen nothing. The average man in the street could not afford to attend the expo, for which tickets were sold out a couple of weeks ago. They see these events happening, some may look at the big ones gathered as their heroes or villains depending on political allegiance, intelligence, or knowledge. But they know oil production has not improved their lives. The rising cost of living alone tells the story. Poverty and violence is the reality for most Guyanese.
Why do we continue to hear platitudes like “we are on the cusp of development?”
The time is here. The average Guyanese should not be on the outside looking in while the big ones knock champagne glasses at the Marriott Hotel, some feigning care about their future when in fact they do not and will not walk in their shoes, for the shoes of the average man are tattered and torn.
There is hope in companies that have been established, the ones that are becoming and ones that will be established. There will be job creation no doubt but when will the average man be brought out of poverty? Will it bring the majority out of poverty?
Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Motley also advocated on behalf of the Guyanese people during her address. She said, “Guyana has endured much, and you cannot move from being a highly indebted poor country without being given the opportunity [to bring] along your people who have suffered the indignity of that poverty for decades.”
A minute percent of Guyanese and those who represent the interests of the people were present at the Marriott this week. The average man may have heard about the conference by the way. Many read articles or watched the news. Many may have seen the beautiful pictures on social media where big ones posed in their finest attire as they networked and smiled with each other. I am sure many felt like they did not belong because they could not see where they would fit in. Like in the George Orwell’s satirical allegorical novel ‘Animal Farm’ where the other animals looked on in awe as the pigs and humans merged into one beast, so some of the Guyanese people would have felt this week observing the events and feeling that they did not belong.
It was reinforced how significant Guyana’s oil wealth is to the world and that charting a sustainable energy future is simply not just a Guyanese affair. There were a hundred and twenty companies showcasing their services and forty of those were Guyanese. Outnumbered, but still at the crux, what was displayed, and the hopes and dreams sold are a result of what this land has produced and what belongs to us.
While hope sparkled in the eyes of participants of the conference and deals were made and the path to generating wealth for some was illuminated, there were protesters. They expressed concern about Guyana’s present and the future. They carried placards calling for renegotiation of the oil contracts, calling for the Guyanese people to get their fair share, bemoaning the cost of living and demonstrating that the revolution is sometimes small but is ever present.
They could not gather inside the Marriott to disturb the activities. Perhaps some of the big ones would have preferred that they protestors did not exist. But were their voices heard? Will the government make any efforts to renegotiate any oil contracts? Will there be emergency efforts to raise the wages and salaries of the average man so they can keep up with the cost of living?
The contrast of the big ones inside the Marriott plotting and making deals and those who joined the protest on the outside asking for better deals for the Guyanese people was telling.
