Damning accusation against the APNU-AFC Government

Mar 06, 2016 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Please allow us the space in your newspaper to expose an vey unacceptable plot that is orchestrated by the organizers of Guyana’s Golden Jubilee Celebration.
The organisers of Guyana’s Golden Jubilee Celebration should explain to Guyanese why Johnny Q Sound Company of Trinidad and Tobago will be awarded the contract to handle all the light and sound jobs for this event. Explain to Guyana why Johnny Q Sound Company will be granted tax-free concessions to import their equipment.  Johnny Q Sound Company purportedly sold themselves as the premier sound company of Trinidad when in reality Rent-A-Amp is the leading sound company of Trinidad. We were informed that Johnny Q Sound Company plans to use the tax-free concessions to import their equipment into Guyana and after the Jubilee celebration, ship out a small proportion of that equipment and leave the rest here in Guyana and work in collaboration with the local Cloud 9 Inc. We do not know if this is true? We are asking if this is true. Can we have a response from Johnny Q?  So Guyana will be granting Johnny Q Sound Company tax-free concessions to set up shop here in Guyana, in an industry that is already struggling. This is already happening in the Timber and Mining Industry; we cannot have this extended to the Entertainment Industry. This decision is rather troubling and should be condemned forthwith. How on earth, could this be allowed to happen? This is very unpatriotic! Is this how a Government for the people operates? The answer to that will be a resounding NO! A Government for the people will give the contract to its people, Guyanese. This Government should not allow this atrocity to materialize.
The organisers’ defense may be that Guyana’s entertainment industry is not equipped with the desired quality of equipment. Guyana has four major sound company companies; combine these four and we will have enough sound for 50,000 to 100,000 people. Guyana successfully hosted Mega Concerts with International Artistes such as R. Kelly, Ne-Yo, Trey Songz , Donne Clerking  ,Sami Yusif and a whole host of Caribbean act such as Beris Hamond and Machel Mantano  et cetera so the organisers cannot argue that local entertainers lack the expertise and experience for a celebration of this magnitude.  If the organisers have low confidence in the local sound engineers, why not bring in a foreign high profile engineer or two to guarantee the standard you desire? Charity begins at home. Award the contract for the light and sound jobs to local (Guyanese) Sound Companies instead of Johnny Q Sound Company of Trinidad and Tobago.
Does it make a lot of sense to award the contract to the Trinidadians which will effectively pump money into Trinidad’s economy instead of Guyana’s which is already suffering tremendously? You have no inkling how adversely the 2 a.m curfew has affected and will continue to affect the entertainment industry but that is a subject for another discussion. These local Sound Companies employ Guyanese. These local sound companies take that burden off the government. That is a few hundred people less in the unemployed category. It is very unpatriotic of the organisers to award the contract to Johnny Q Sound Company of Trinidad and Tobago. This Government should not allow this atrocity to materialize.
Is there any other nation in this part of the hemisphere that is as disloyal and unpatriotic as Guyana? I think the answer to that will be a resounding NO! Which other nation with a struggling economy will grant tax concessions to foreigners and allow them to penetrate an already struggling industry when the locales can do the same job? These types of decisions stemmed Guyana’s rage and caused us to vote for change. Regrettably, this is NOT the change Guyanese voted for! Is the decision to contract Johnny Q Sound Company for GUYANA’s Jubilee Celebration in the best interest of Guyana? Award the contract to local sound companies. Do these little things to stimulate Guyana’s economy. Everybody is crying out. Everyone is feeling the harsh effects of this crippling economy. What on earth are the organisers doing? To say I am appalled by this decision would be an understatement.
Guyanese had such high hopes of this government. It will be very hypocritical of this administration to engage in the very acts they once chastised the previous administration for. As the old proverbial saying goes “You know what you get, but you don’t know what you gun get”. Guyanese are living to witness that daily. It is way too soon for such atrocity to begin. We are not having it! We will not take this lightly.
Guyana deteriorated to the state it is today because for too long Guyanese sat back and stay quiet on issues that affect them negatively. Martin Luther King Jr said; “our lives begin to end the day we stay silent on matters that affect us”. Guyanese will be affected negatively by this administration’s decision to contract all the light and sound jobs to Johnny Q Sound Company of Trinidad and Tobago.
We appeal to the administration to truly be a government for the people. Do what is right by Guyanese. Charity begins at home. Award the contract for the light and sound jobs to local (Guyanese) Sound Companies instead of Johnny Q Sound Company of Trinidad and Tobago. Keep the money right here in Guyana. Let it circulate right here, in our economy. Support local!
Concerned citizen (name supplied)

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