Dear Editor,
Where’s the beef, buddy? Show ‘wee dee money, ministah’! Those are some of the words aimed at the Minister of Agriculture, who had to do the honours for the PPP Government. It involved that sensitive matter of oil production and the possible effects on hurting segments of the fishing sector. The minister has to deliver, he cannot step back and disappear into the cobwebs. He came forward and spoke of the disconnect between oil production and fishing fallouts experienced, as bolstered by a study executed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Pursuant to the articulations of the Minister there is a report on which he based his public pronouncements, the gist of which is there is no connection, no association, and no devastation from oil operations out there in Exxon land.
I like the sound of that reassuring result coming out of the minister by way of the FAO. I would like it more if the minister could be kind enough (and fearless enough) to produce the paper on which it was written. Guyanese are desirous of seeing it, and reviewing it for themselves. With due respect to the Minister and the FAO, I must remind him that dis time nah lang time. Meaning, the time for total belief, or any reliance, on what emerges out of the minds and mouths of ministers and their leaders is long gone. It is a different day, and too many citizens here have been burned too often for trusting political producers with what they claim to be pure. Regrettably, it has not been so, thus it must be seen to be believed.
The days of ‘yes, prime minister’ and ‘yes, minister’ are over. This is not British comedy, but harsh Guyanese reality that we have lived with, and grimaced over. The minister, therefore, must go back to his filing cabinet and retrieve the FAO report and deliver it to Guyanese. That would be a production of substance, one that could only make the minister look good before all Guyana. It is why I urge the minister, deliver. Give the people the goods; after all, this is a democracy. Put the FAO story out there, and let Guyanese judge for themselves. If anyone thinks I am giving the minister the benefit of the doubt, I am. And if they still believe that he is being given too much rope that is true too. It is what is enshrined in the tenets of fairness and balance. It is what he is due. But only for this tranquil interlude. I have every confidence that the man from agriculture will rise to the moment and sprout a twig. Go for it, bro.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
