Dear Editor,
I find fascinating the cleverness of Mr. Robin Singh, on his lovely missive titled, `Every reason listed by GHK Lall for not engaging against gold smuggling faced by CANU’ (SN, August 01). What is even more intriguing is his zealous quest for what is bannered as “transparency”, a most commendable calling. I congratulate him. Surely, Mr. Singh is not expecting names, as in John, James, and Joseph; or their relations in other tongues. If I didn’t know better, and I did not hold Mr. Singh as aloft as I do, the thinking is that he is setting up, and baiting, to see what I would be so reckless as to reveal. I am shocked that this fine citizen, with his reach, still needs to know about who is who, and who does what, when he already knows. Yet, there is this transparent fishing expedition.
First, there are only a few dozen, if that many, gold operators in Guyana; those who dally in the kind of weight that make them a player. When the real heavy hitters in the smuggling rackets are considered, the numbers trickle down to close to single digits, those we would call ‘big fish’ in this country. Should Mr. Singh still pretend innocence, then I help him: some tier-up his top political people. There are only a few around with such clout, such access. No identification should be necessary. He himself had an issue with a major felony, now a cold case, as that potato was passed from hand to hand, with nobody claiming substantial knowledge of what went on, despite where it did.
Second, CANU has certainly recorded some weight in the interdiction department, but of more weight are those other intelligence developments shared from which nothing resulted. Peering into CANU activities, and its ‘successes’, what the Guyanese public should recognize is the cast of mules, and no mule owners or drivers. The closest that Guyanese come to transparency is one iron dealer named, but missing; plus, some four-year cannon fodder that makes the news to reassure Guyanese that people are on the job, and serious results are achieved. Unsaid by anyone, including Mr. Singh, is anything about those huge drug busts that occurred in foreign jurisdictions, with CANU and others on the sidelines, but about which a blanket of secrecy has descended. Or why some in CANU are not highly thought of in foreign places that count.
Third, it is my belief that both smuggling ops, gold and drugs, sometimes overlap, viz., the same ole heads, and the same powers in the local economy. Foreign intelligence agencies have certainly concluded so. I would think that a man of Mr. Singh’s capabilities (and stature) would be knowledgeable about how many such powers they are, who they are, and who their godfathers are. It is why there is this lament about smuggling, and nothing more, other than time passing, and people laughing. Maybe before, but no longer. When I think of this, there is the strong sense that Mr. Singh (and his people) are trying to discover how much is known.
Fourth, the writer referred to what I described as sensational news that led to the banning of gold shipments from Guyana when it was three legs in the local economy, but then again curled up into a tight ball. Ow, Mr. Singh, there has only been a single instance of any such matter developing in this country, and that was even before my arrival. These games are not really necessary, transparency disguise or not. What was known was that that exposure only came to light because the fingered and accused had crossed paths with people he had worked for before. As a transparency follow-up that matter had been whittled down to the meaningless, nothing happening.
Fifth, the most that I would say is that the former President did mandate a high-level investigating into gold smuggling; related reports went to his office.
Last, as much as Mr. Singh would like, and he tried valiantly, the presence and stench of politics cannot be separated from smuggling locally, and on the big-ticket items that have plagued this country. Look again at my initial writing that laid out the territory. Politics seeped into it, then saturated it. One of the things that frustrated and infuriated the Yankees, and not just over gold and narcotics, was that despite enhanced policies and procedures, enhanced risk profiles and due diligence, there was not one case brought against a player. Not one! Why is that so?
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
