Fishermen are the latest group to receive cash grants from the government. These are part of the government’s efforts to provide cost of living relief to all Guyanese. The individuals or groups of “all Guyanese” that have not yet benefitted from cash grants I suppose must eagerly wait their turn and if their turn never comes some may have to turn stone into bread.
It was reported that over sixteen hundred fisherfolk in Berbice benefitted. It was also reported that countrywide approximately eight thousand fisherfolk will benefit from the one-off grant.
Those who consume fish can testify that over the last couple of years, the cost of fish has increased. Fishermen have complained that their catch has not been as plentiful as it was in previous years. The man on the street has been saying that the drilling for oil has drove fish away.
In January of this year, there was a report in this newspaper where Liliendaal fishermen spoke of low catches. The fishermen who fished 15 to 17 miles offshore said that they were exploring new areas such as Berbice. They also reported that they were instructed to move by crew working on vessels supporting ExxonMobil’s operations, but ExxonMobil’s Head of Media and Communication Janelle Persaud said that they had not received such claims and that ExxonMobil was not prohibiting fisherfolk.
One must question: how detrimental in the long term will the oil industry be to the fishing industry? It was just two weeks ago that it was reported that one barrel of oil leaked from the Liza Unity floating, production, and offloading (FPSO) vessel. It raised eyebrows and people questioned if it was just one barrel. One can only hope that Guyana will never experience an oil spill the magnitude of Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. On April 20, 2010, the rig exploded, killed eleven people and four million barrels of oil leaked. As Guyanese I suppose with prayers, trust in the oil gods and the Environmental Protection Agency we can only hope for the best.
So, while the fisherfolk have received their $150,000 cash grants, there have been other cash grants over the last two years. However, every group has received different amounts. While the COVID cash grant was $25,000 a household and some people filled out a pink slip and never received it, we have seen that cash grants of $250,000 was given to severed sugar workers while hinterland and riverain communities received $25,000 per household. There was also a $100,000 cash grant for children with disabilities and each school child was eligible for the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant of $30,000 this year.
For the groups that received the largest cash grants, such as the ex-sugar workers and fishermen, one might ask, how were the amounts determined? In the case of the ex-sugar workers, maybe most of them are still unemployed and perhaps that was the reason behind that amount. But even if they were employed at the time of receiving the cash grants, we know that any amount of money related to anything GuySuCo, is always granted. GuySuco is like a sweet dream where the genie never runs out of monetary wishes for them. Is there any other place where the sugar has turned bitter from not making profits, but the hope of making it sweet again continues to cost the country billions?
I suppose the fishermen receiving a $150,000 cash grant is a way of compensating them for the losses they may have encountered since their catches have become less. But always with these cash grants, is it a long-term solution? When the one-off cash grants have been used, what then? Will the low catches turn plentiful?
As Guyanese we could always boast about the availability of fresh fruits, vegetables, and fish, but it seems like many aspects of our way of life are under threat because of some of the changes that come with oil and climate change. In a time when Guyanese were isolated, depressed, and grappling with the rising cost of living, each household was only promised $25,000. What $25,000 would have given one a couple of years ago, one only gets a fraction of that now. So, whether it is $250,000 dreams or $25,000 dreams, what is needed to alleviate poverty in Guyana is a comprehensive plan that would improve the lifestyle of even the vagrants on the street. Our one people should not be made beggars in a land of plenty.
But many Guyanese are not only still feeling isolated or depressed because of the general air of malaise that came with COVID, but they are seeing their dreams of rising out of poverty from the country’s resources slip further away. The distinction between the haves and the have nots is clearer now. We keep hearing about the opportunities and seeing the welcoming of foreign investors, but how does the poorest of the poor grasp even a fraction of what Guyana now has to offer? Education is a way to accomplishing dreams but even some of our most educated are undervalued, underpaid, and leave for greener pastures.
Whatever sacrifices have been made in the name of the oil industry; it is we the people who should benefit the most. But with 2% dreams, cash grants are just a temporary balm on an oozing wound. How long will we see the distribution of these monies? As more monies are earned from oil, will there be cash distributions annually to every Guyanese household as some suggested?
Instead of creating a hand-out culture, there should be equal opportunities and the equitable distribution of wealth. One way the government can bring relief to many Guyanese is not to have them pay for land in their own country. The least a person born in a resource rich country should expect is a plot to call their own. It is our birthright. The sacrifices made by our ancestors for this land were enough. For as long as we stepped off the sugar plantations, for as long as we have been independent, why have we not collectively achieved the Guyanese dream? It is telling that in 2022, in oil rich and other resources rich Guyana, it is cash grant dreams that give hope to some of our people. Is this progress?
