Dear Editor,
Monday June 10, 2024 saw a news item of significance to every Guyanese and I am of the view that its contents should be shared by one and all. I refer to Monday’s edition of the erudite Editorial of Stabroek News. This letter will not go into detail save to observe that our natural resources, is also accompanied by a dark ominous cloud of corruption, arrogance, and a regime whose anathema to consultation as required by law, and equally egregious, evidence of a disdain for the judiciary, and an unbelievable disrespect for the other pillar of a viable democracy, that of collective bargaining. All of the above is worsened by the manipulation of the higher echelons of the public service – a public service we inherited from the Westminster type governance model.
To have had a Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, with a clear affiliation to the Party in Office, suggests an intention to manage and manipulate the important sector of national security and an attempt to influence internal security matters as though it is the fiefdom of the President and the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party. Her recent transfer to the Ministry of Labour must be viewed in the context of recent revelations. Those revelations, contained in the United States Department of the Treasury statement, where they imposed sanctions on businessmen, Nazar Mohamed and son, Azruddin Mohamed, over the alleged massive smuggling of gold and Permanent Secretary Mae Toussaint-Thomas over alleged corruption, were damning. Who knows, this may just be the tip of the iceberg. Recall our ‘friend’, Roger Khan’s full page announcement when he claimed that he had the capacity to help the PPP Government. Shortly after, dead bodies turned up in several places. Further comments are unnecessary. Is there a nexus between these events?
With respect to the oil, gas and gold sector we remain appalled and disgusted by these mullings about the sanctity of contracts and the sand-dancing when offers had been made both by former Minister Trotman and an experienced negotiator from Trinidad & Tobago to re-negotiate the ridiculous contract with which we are still burdened. So our illustrious leaders seem satisfied with small slices from a huge cake, perhaps because the icing on the cake is being eaten by a small group in our country. We, as Guyanese, must demand that those who have come to extract our oil resources return to the negotiation table, must revisit the contracts signed, and must offer guarantees with respect to the possibility of an oil spill. This question of the sanctity of contract is nonsensical in view of the fact that, in hindsight, this contract, clearly highlighted the advantage that was taken off by an international oil conglomerate on a small country with little understanding of the intricacies of oil negotiation, a contract that allowed the oil company in question to receive the bulk of the profits while we, the owners, were relegated to pittances.
This situation is worsened when you have a Government who talks about democracy, but hiding from citizens, the key aspects of the report generated by auditors in the oil and gas sector. So why is this hemorrhage taking place and billions being squandered? They are unwilling to respond to the plight of teachers represented by the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) in spite of the availability of massive sums more than ever in our country. Our teachers are the worst paid in the region, where we are now by far the richest country per capita in this hemisphere. Unbelievable, but true. Change designates one of the most conspicuous and pervasive features of life and human relations. We must not be averse to change but in fact must embrace it as the only given in life. This contract personifies the absolute for adjustment. We must demand the re-negotiation of this contract. Our silence must no longer be an option.
Sincerely,
Hamilton Green
Elder