The tear-gassing of Linden protestors might have dashed all hopes for a peaceful resolution

Aug 12, 2012 Letters

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Dear Editor,
We refer to an article in the press captioned Private Sector criticizes Region 10 Chairman ….”.  While it is the right of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) to express their view they must be reminded that for conflict resolution to be successful in Guyana, civil society bodies must remain and preserve their independence and impartiality to be treated with the respect they justly deserve.  The performance of the PSC under the immediate past President Mr. Ramesh Dookhoo and others like Mr. Gerry Gouveia has rendered the PSC into an extension of the Jagdeo/Ramotar regime and thus it can best be deemed as a pro-PPP organisation. Proof of this lay in the fact that the PSC has gone out its way to shower praise on the corrupt Jagdeo/Ramotar regime in its quest to “solicit favours” for a select few.  This same PSC never came to the rescue of its members like Yesu Persaud and Robert Badal who chose to expose the PPP corruption.
So how can the PSC now want the Lindener’s to trust them today as mediators when many in their leadership are compromised?
So if Mr. Sharma Solomon is speaking to the PPP leader, President Ramotar; there is no vacancy for more pro-PPP leaders to join the conversation under the disguise of the PSC. To bring balance to the discussions, Mr. Solomon quite justly demanded that if the PSC is invited, then the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other civic groups must also be present at the talks. And while we are at it, why not the Church leaders especially those who have congregations in Linden (Oh please spare us from that blasphemous so called PPP Bishop!). We would even go so far as to ask the Transparency International Guyana Chapter be asked to act as observers at these deliberations since even APNU and the PNC  cannot be trusted.  One only has to look at the just completed Terms of Reference (TOR) crafted by Joseph Harmon on behalf of APNU and Roger Luncheon on behalf of the PPP.  That TOR was a grave injustice to the people of Linden.
Did the APNU and the PNC authorize this incomplete TOR crafted by Joseph Harmon and Roger Luncheon and if so, then the word sell out of the dreams and desires of the Lindeners would be an apt description?  At least the AFC was in order for exposing this document for what it is and quite rightly so!
So coming back to the PSC, they are out of order to criticize Mr. Solomon Sharma, the Region 10 Chairman since technically, ideologically and principally, they cannot be seen as independent peace-makers. Many in the opposition forces see the PSC as damaged goods.
SOLUTION FOR LINDEN
1. With immediate effect President Ramotar should engage groups of Church leaders who have congregations in Linden to act as plenipotentiaries to work with the people since it is clear the people do not trust the PPP and by extension the PSC. As an incentive to that act, maybe the Government should declare Linden a disaster zone and send in some temporary food supplies under the auspices of these Church Leaders to help ease the pain and suffering of the people;
2. The Ramotar government should engage Bosai, Rusal, the Bauxite Unions, the University of Guyana (Institute of Development Studies) and the Region 10 Leadership to devise a sustainable development plan for Region 10. We know that this is a very difficult task for the PPP leaders because they failed to ground with the people and thus they are intellectually bankrupt on the Region 10 issues. The evidence over the past decade reveals that the Jagdeo/Ramotar regime has not only neglected and marginalized Lindeners, but has also embarked on a starve and feed strategy to break the people into supporting the PPP. The 2011 electoral results tell the story of what the Lindeners think of the PPP.
3. As part of the sustained development plan, the PPP regime should provide resources to the people of Linden to revitalize the infrastructure of the town on projects such as trimming of the parapet, collection of all roadside garbage including the old logs, the planting of trees, developing of play parks for the children, repainting and repairing of all government buildings, and repairing the Roads etc. All these contracts should be given out to Lindeners to immediately create jobs for hundreds of young men and women in Linden and thus ease their financial burden.
4. The PPP should develop a house parts industry in Linden to provide low cost building materials such as building blocks from lateritic bauxite waste material, wooden house parts such as sawn and plain lumber, windows, doors, roofing material etc and provide the market on the coast by way of the New GMC to sell these products to contractors.  Again jobs!
5. The PPP government should engage the services of a team of professionals and specialists to visit some of the major economic and financial capitals of the world to try to get some funding to build the Tiger Falls Hydro electric project and an alumina plant at Linden to process the bauxite produced by both Bosai and Rusal into ALUMINA. In addition, the Brazilians must be aggressively pursued to cultivate the intermediate savannah area and rear chicken, sheep, pigs, cows and other small ruminants on a large scale for the Brazilian market using modern technology and local labor.  Again more jobs!
This is what the Ramotar/Jagdeo regime should be doing rather than using the security forces to terrorize the people of Linden while pretending to be in talks with the Leadership of Linden.  How can those talks be successfully if they are being conducted with a gun pointed at the heads of the Lindeners?
We remain surprised that Mr. Solomon is still in talks with the Ramotar/Jagdeo regime.
So in conclusion, rather than spending so much time serving the PPP’s interest, the PSC should restore its unenviable reputation it once had under business leaders like Yesu Persaud and focus on how to structure the business deals for their members to revitalize the economy in Region 10 and the rest of Guyana. Linden and by extension the entire Guyana are in economic, political and social crisis and the PSC should be leading with the new business deals to create the new jobs and stop pandering to the whims and fancies of the PPP.
Dr Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh

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