Dear Editor,
British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, is now history. Her 6-week tenure was sad, bad, mad history. All the talk of U-turn fades into insignificance by how she overturned herself, and ended up being thrown out on her head. As always, I look at developments elsewhere, and ask myself: why not here? Why don’t we have people of the caliber that could standup and against a sitting Prime Minister (the equivalents), and say enough, and begone? In quick order, we know about Truss’s giving the rich a tax break, helping the oil companies with a free ride during windfall profits, and not doing enough for the ordinary British people. The latter were trying to cope with inflation, and other pressures, and needed assistance, any material ease, from government. Contender Truss for the PM’s role promised much. But PM Truss walked back what she said was going to be done under her leadership.
Former PM Truss’s support base (the Conservative Party) in the House of Commons have voters to whom they answer, and they were hearing alarms and cries. Things got so bad in Liz Truss’s six-week interval of leadership slides, upheavals, and reversals that even venerable members of the House of Lords were speaking out publicly against her decisions and actions. What made matters still worse was that members of the British peerage, who spoke critically of PM Truss were diehard Conservatives. In the tersest, tightest description: her own turned against her, and spoke out against the Prime Minister, pushing her from 10 Downing Street. Now, the question may be asked: what does this have to do with Guyana? I think that is fair, and I now elaborate in the local context. We have the PPP Government in power, and there is obvious leadership failure at the highest levels. In the first instance, the President, Vice President, and ranking ministers were very vocal in denouncing the 2016 oil contract that Guyana lives with in partnership with Exxon.
There are PPP Members of Parliament who are competent enough to know that what they condemned before is an abomination and insult to Guyana, but they have no problems with their leaders sticking with it, doing nothing to force Exxon’s hand. In fact, a quartet of PPP MPs went above and beyond to attack their fellow Guyanese and to defend where the foreigners (Exxon et al) were falling short. Instead of Guyanese MPs pressing their leaders to bring about needed enhancements, they are content to be the best version of ‘all for one’ and ‘one for all.’ I look for men and women of high honour, higher principle, and the highest patriotism, and am emptyhanded. Not one? Not one dissident PPP MP here? Like they have in the rebellious Conservative Party in England, and like Liz Truss came to rue for her ineptitude? Where are the pastors, pandits, and other pious in parliament? How about the princes of learning? Surely, there must be one? Next, there is a highly touted Wales gas-to-shore (GTS) project that would be the costliest undertaking to date by this poor country.
Nobody really has the full, accurate story of the financial foundations for this GTS project, and its continued benefits to energy-starved Guyanese, desperate for affordable and reliable electricity. A number of variables, all against the original estimates advanced by the Vice President reduces, if not eliminates, what he had placed before the nation, and which sounded encouraging when first unveiled. I am certain that there are PPP MPs who can count better than I can, and who also discern that there is an insufficiency of information and detail from the Vice President, relative to the Wales GTS. Yet it is as if they are braindead or dead to all developments, or they are severely handicapped in terms of analyzing and interpreting what is before them, and then speaking out against it. That is, unless the complete basis of the Vice President’s ‘must have’ US$2B GTS project is shared with Guyanese. It must be that what is presented makes sense, makes material difference in the lives of Guyanese, or it cannot stand. Again, I ask this: what happened to the lawyers, and doctors, the other learned, the religious people on the PPP’s side of the aisle in Guyana’s National Assembly?
I seek one (only one) PPP MP to stand up, like one of those Conservative Party MPs in the Commons, and say that he or she has a problem. A problem with the Exxon contract, and that meaningful change must come now. A problem with the Wales GTS, and that we must know all there is to know now, or that it be scrapped. It would speak honourably of that one PPP MP (or more, if they can be found) who steps out, and articulates concerns with the claims of our Chinese Cde. Su, with the depth of their leaders’ integrity and honesty. And that he or she can’t take it anymore, and cannot and will not be a part of any such situations anymore. Where are those PPP MPs? I think the better question is whether we have any of them at all….
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
