IS GUYANA UP FOR SALE?

Oct 19, 2009 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

There is a great deal of frustration in Guyana. This dissatisfaction stems not from a lack of progress made over the past seventeen years but rather with the insufficient movement that is being made in improving the livelihoods of all Guyanese.
The lack of effective leadership is a sore point in this aggravation. We have had the misfortune of Guyana coming under a style of leadership which it can argue is not helpful to building political consensus or of even entertaining an open-mind to options in the economic sphere. The fact that things could have been much better had there been superior leadership is not a disputable point.
The same point is being made in relation to the opposition. The blame for greater militancy is being placed at the door of the leadership of the main opposition. Yet, those who are shouting from the treetops about the lack of leadership whether at the national level or within the opposition need to ask themselves about their own involvement in holding both the government and the opposition to task.
In the midst of this quarrel about who is responsible for what in Guyana, the capitalist class is entrenching its control over the administration and over the affairs of this country. This class can be seen in the company of our political leaders; they fund political parties and dictate what happens and what does not happen in Guyana. The working class people will not advance their interests unless they appreciate the fact that their capitalist class has used their wealth and influence to gain a foothold over the policies of the administration.
A small group of businesses and their associates are reaping the rewards while the people are quarreling about leadership.
A few weeks ago, this column wrote about a deal that was inked in 2008 in relation to the Iwokrama. It has been reported that in return for financing for Iwokrama, this firm secured a commitment for “ownership” rights for future environmental benefits. This column has asked- and no one has answered or followed through on the question- as to what are the implications of this deal should Guyana secure benefits under REDD. Will it mean that the foreign investor will benefit from all the monies that will be earned from this large chunk of our forests?
This is a matter which needs to be raised in the National Assembly and it is therefore pleasing to note that the Alliance for Change has not made permanent its decision to stay away from the National Assembly. If political parties stay away from the National Assembly, they cannot ask the questions which need to be asked and right now instead of building dossiers, the opposition should be seeking to place a halt on some of the deals which the government has negotiated or are in the process of negotiating since most of these are still shrouded in secrecy.
The people of this country are still not aware of just what is being paid for the Sanata Complex. This deal has not been laid in the National Assembly. The deal between Canopy Capital and the Board of Iwokrama has not been laid in the National Assembly.
Now comes the shocking announcement that a Trinidadian firm has rights to the Turtruba Hydropower project by virtue of some agreement between itself and the government of Guyana. Now somebody needs to ask about this purported agreement which we are told was signed in 2001, an election year.
A report circulating on the Internet states that the firm entered into a memorandum of understanding with the government of Guyana which gives it exclusive rights to apply for a license to develop the Turtruba facility.
The Brazilians are reportedly interested in the same facility and a report earlier this month had indicated that the state-owned electricity company of Brazil was interested in developing the facility. If both reports are true, we now have a major clash of interest over something that belongs to the people of Guyana who are for the greater part in the dark about just what is going on.
The question needs to be asked is not whether Guyana is up for sale, but rather whether Guyana has already been sold because with each week we are reading about deals for which the Guyanese people are generally unaware.
And while all of these things are happening, there are quarrels about leadership, inquiries, and third terms. By the time these quarrels are over, Guyana may have already been mortgaged to private businesses both local and foreign.

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IS GUYANA UP FOR SALE?

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