Unity with Guyana and Suriname is preferable

Aug 25, 2008 Letters

Dear Editor,
I am for integration, but not with Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The reason is not ethnicity, as some may be tempted to think, but simply economics. What do these countries have to bring to this “political marriage” with Trinidad and Tobago?

A political union with Guyana and Suriname will have many more advantages. These are as follows:
1. Guyana and Suriname have vast acreages of land and a strong agricultural sector that can become the breadbasket of the Caribbean, thus ensuring food security for the region.

2. Trinidad and Tobago’s abundance of diesel and gasoline can be provided to Guyana and Suriname at a subsidized price to boost agricultural production.

3. Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago have a common historical, cultural and political experience that can be built on. For example, in all three countries there are large numbers of Africans and Indians that are familiar with and share religious and cultural practices.

4. Eco-tourism is a major industry that can be explored in Guyana and Suriname. The Kaieteur Falls, the rain forests and the vast rivers of Guyana and Suriname are a paradise for naturalists.

5. Association with Suriname will provide markets for trade with the Dutch-speaking Caribbean and the Netherlands.

6. Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas can be used to assist Guyana and Suriname with Trinidad’s aluminum smelter production, rather than the need to establish smelter plants in Trinidad.

7. Guyana has gold and other precious metals that can be exploited and traded in international markets for precious foreign exchange.

9. The potential for wealth creation will give rise to a high standard of living, low inflation and negligible criminal activities, including homicides.

10. Lastly, Trinidad and Tobago has Brian Lara, while Guyana has Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Trinidad and Tobago has nothing to gain by an association with those islands.

The only solution to those three states is for them to apply to the UK for dependency status, and if successful, they would be lucky to be part of the European Union, an economic powerhouse.

A unity with Guyana and Suriname is essential for Trinidad and Tobago if we are to think of our survival beyond 2012.

If we don’t move speedily in that direction, we may also have to apply to the UK for dependency status.

D.H. Singh
Chaguanas