Dear Editor,
There is no shortage of land in a location where the disposal of radioactive waste can be managed without getting into our drinking water and away from where our citizens and animals are living. The EPA must be mindful of the needs of the population and safeguard the health of our people first and foremost before even considering granting permission for such a dangerous operation. Houston is one of the better neighbourhoods in the city, and to think that someone would even consider placing it in harm’s way is utter folly. When did Guyana become scarce of uninhabited land where our people will be out of danger from such a dangerous operation as in the case of radioactive waste management? Something else is wrong here. There is lots of land elsewhere and an EIA is not optional for such a project where dangerous material is being placed into a neighbourhood. Why the rush to do such a foolish thing?
A solution can easily be had for this problem, and I am surprised that a local law firm would even consider defending a company that is willing to risk the lives of our citizens’ health when better options for a location can be easily obtained with the government’s help. Life is more important than the convenience being given to foreigners who do not appreciate the hard work and time that went into developing the Houston area. We must not allow the destruction of our neighbourhoods, especially the good ones. The government must intervene before this gets out of hand. We are not a nation of millions, each of our citizens are extremely valuable to us and we are not one of those countries that will sacrifice the lives of our citizens for the earnings of foreigners. What those foreign companies are used to doing overseas will not be allowed here in our beautiful country. We will not allow them to come into our neighbourhoods and make it toxic, ruining the lives of our people. Look at how much is being spent on education. What purpose will it bring if the children we are educating end up in the hospitals with serious illnesses that will rob them of their future. The EPA is failing us too often and must be revamped. It is not supposed to act as an agent of the oil companies not give such an impression by bypassing the EIA process as we are seeing being done on so many occasions. The citizens are already crying foul, and the government must take swift action to correct its course. Otherwise, they risk being judged by the folly of the few at the expense of all the good work that they have accomplished. Health is more important than wealth and without it wealth is useless. Decision making must always keep this in mind.
The money already spent by the company is sunk cost and instead of gaining the reputation of going into a good area and messing it up, they should be good corporate citizens. The Houston area is filled with many intelligent and professional people. Use the site to create an educational facility and leverage the Human Resources available in the area. We are not pigs in Guyana, and we value our environment and our loved ones more than money. Remember all the hardships we have overcome together as a nation. We have survived and excelled when we were embargoed. Our country was safer and people lived healthier. If this is going to be the way foreign investors will make decisions in the future, where our citizens are expected to give up their good health, just to spend their new found earnings on healthcare, then we must say no thank you and bid them farewell from our shores. The EPA must represent the best interest of our citizens and our environment. A failure to do so must result in comprehensive change at the agency.
With concern,
Jamil Changlee
Chairman
The Cooperative Republicans of
Guyana
