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Finally someone has made a discovery!

Jul 09, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
In an article captioned, “Smuggling alert!” in the Guyana Chronicle, Saturday July 3, 2010, I read, with some amount of pleasure, that the Commissioner General of Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Kurshid Sattaur, is “concerned” about smuggling of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages, among other goods, from Suriname. Finally someone has made a discovery! Mr. Sattaur can now be on the long list of discoverers that we have been reading about since early childhood.
Since his appointment as Commissioner is Mr. Sattaur now realising this or has there been a long and intense monitoring of our open border, and now there has been a catch? Who are these people kidding? Even the smallest child will tell Mr. Sattaur that there is smuggling of goods and people and many other things from Suriname and some of the older folks will tell him that it has been going on for decades now and he is now discovering it.
He is asking people to report the acts of smuggling and he has his hired hands collecting at the ports of entry to allow the smugglers through. Let’s all laugh at his joke! At least Mr. Sattaur is awake to and is now aware of the smuggling from Suriname. When will the President and other government officials be cognizant of that sickening fact -the very act that has been plaguing our country for decades and is condoned by government officials – the illegal crossing between Guyana and Suriname.
The question to this great historic discoverer is, what will you do about the smuggling from Suriname?
Are you looking to intercept the goods in and around Georgetown or before they get there because you do not want the business people in Georgetown to have unfair competition? That must be very thoughtful of you Commissioner, because you are like so many leaders and representatives of this nation who believe that Georgetown is Guyana or vice versa. What of the unfair competition posed to the business people in Berbice who are not into the smuggling business?
Why have agencies set up to apprehend smugglers after they have entered the country? Let me help you solve the problem. Talk to the people who gave you your job and include Mr. Robert Persaud and close the back track route. Then, ask my friend and a very competent leader of our army, Commodore Gary Best, to have a patrol boat standing by in the area and any boat that moves in the direction of Suriname or from Suriname will be intercepted. That way, Mr. Sattaur, Berbice businessmen will also be protected.
That Moleson Creek crossing was built with funds from an international agency and it should be used to capacity.
Why is it that everyone is saying that the back track can’t be closed – it is because the powers that be do not want it closed? Are the few votes the PPP/C will get from the back track people so important? It will not be enough to put them back in power in 2011. So at least do something meaningful for Berbice – put these lawbreakers out of business. Take a page from the book that Commander of B Division, Mr. Steve Merai has, he goes to the source of the marijuana, the farms and does not wait to catch the distributors in the street. The source of smuggled goods is the backtrack.
Charrandass Persaud

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