Dear Editor,
As residents are restless and hurting due to an increasing high cost of living, Government is to be commended for outreaches to allay their fears and disgruntlement. The grants for heart and kidney treatments are good measures but we must plan for Government facilities in each region providing better health care delivery in these areas. It is obvious that our Guyanese people have rising expectations since we now have oil. They are asking, “Weh the oil money deh?” They read of the oil companies rolling in oil profits as they get 85.5% of all oil income, while Guyana gets a measly 14.5%. The people want to know when the oil wealth would show up in their paychecks, and in the form of pensions, social security benefits and safety nets, income enhancement initiatives, tax-free wages and salaries, efficient services from Government agencies, improvement of roads in their villages where they live, etc. Government has taken hampers to fishermen who complain of low catches since oil started, and regions are promised large, costly infrastructural projects. When those hamper items are used up in a few days, the fishermen would need more hampers until the root cause of their problems are fixed. The infrastructural projects are needed but so are the income enhancement measures for all workers.
The VP has said there would be 8,000 part time jobs nationwide at minimal wages. Region 10 has been promised 800 jobs. Region 2 will get 1,000 jobs. The President is organising work for unemployed Uitvlugt cane harvesters. Region 6 has been promised 3,000 part-time jobs. Yet the Government said we do not have enough workers and were encouraging Guyanese in Suriname and elsewhere to return home. I don’t know which Guyanese would leave a country with a higher currency exchange compared to the Guyana dollar, to come back home. Even in tiny St. Kitts, the currency is higher than the Guyana dollar. The Government also announced lots of hemp production in Berbice, a stadium and hotel at Palmyra, and a new airport at Rose Hall. It is not known if that’s Rose Hall, Canje or Rose Hall Town, Corentyne. I don’t know if those items were in the PPP’s Manifesto or if they are just pulling things out of a hat. How come no mention was made of these in the budget debates? Is a stadium for Region 6 a high priority item, when the Albion Sports Complex is not a well utilized venue? Is that a felt need or an imposed project? Which stakeholders were involved in those discussions? Is that hotel a priority item? Will the Government be building it as they did the Marriott or is that a private venture? Truth be told, most workers will not afford to stay at a hotel for a night because it will cost a whole month of salary at the current minimum wage. In the matter of high bridge tolls to cross the Berbice River, the Government said no to lower tolls on the Berbice Bridge as requested by the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce. That is a real problem for Berbicians, and any relief would have made a big difference for those staunch supporters of the PPP.
The working poor are understanding what the KN and SN have been educating them that Guyana’s oil wealth is being appropriated by the foreign oil companies and Guyana is getting a pittance which is not enough to solve all our problems that have been simmering for the past 60 years under both major parties. Simply, Guyana has been so far behind in basic infrastructure, and there are so many needs, the current income from oil is not enough to solve all our problems relating to more infrastructure as well as policies to increase income. The renegotiation of the oil contract is the only way forward and the masses are understanding that it’s our country and our wealth. It’s just a matter of time, they will take to the streets to demand the Government and the Opposition work together for renegotiation of the oil contracts. We must get more income from our oil and natural resources to have a better life.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jerry Jailall
