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There has to be a way to attract our folks to agriculture
Dear Editor,
As a Guyanese with a multi-racial background, I am very familiar with the problems/issues/etc. affecting poor Guyanese of Indian and African descent. As regards our African brothers, they must be reminded that the money used to purchase villages by freed slaves did not come from gold mining, bauxite or government officials but from agriculture which was pursued on a part-time basis on small plots. Imagine what would have emerged if these slaves had pursued farming full time.
On the other hand, our East Indian brothers took up the space left by their African brothers who were lured into office jobs, security services, etc. and completely displaced them. The rich East Indians were facilitated by the past government via a policy of helping your family, relatives and friends first and so increased their stakes in every aspect of the economy and in so doing marginalized the dirt poor East Indians.
Likewise, our African leaders facilitated the wholesale marginalization of poor Africans by not taking action to bring improvement to their lives. All they did, and still do, is making fancy speeches, promising Heaven, etc. especially at election time. There are few role models in agriculture, fishing, construction, business. How else can you explain the situation at Hope Estate where there are one or two African farmers when the PNC was in government and even now?
On the other hand, East Indian farmers, many not connected to the estate now control almost all the lands. The poor East Indians descendants of Hope Estate were encouraged to sell their tenanted lands to the rich East Indian farmers via hand-written Affidavits drafted by a Commissioner of Oaths and the transfer facilitated by a priest manager who boasted about looking after money Monday to Saturday and God on Sundays.
APNU government is aware of the situation and has documentary proof but seem not to care at all. Hence, the PPP government leaders are also guilty of marginalizing poor East Indians.
The former Chairman of Hope Estate is APNU Coordinator for East Coast and West Berbice.
While he is doing an excellent job meeting APNU constituents and other individuals, nothing is being done to solve the problems/grievances/issues/etc. of African people. African brothers are back to square one, their marginalization facilitated by their leaders and the Community Development dinosaurs of Region 4 and the country, who have hijacked the executive of community development groups and now micromanage their affairs.
Finally, what poor African and East Indians need are not house lots but developed farmlands to prevent the further drift of people moving from agricultural areas to earn non-agricultural incomes.
This will be greatly aggravated when APNU give the final rites to the sugar estates which were mutilated by the PPP over the years and are now managed by the same people who dissolved the sugar paradise.
What we must realize is that when people move from agricultural areas to earn non-agricultural incomes, the country will be embedded and mired in eternal poverty and destitution. Let us heed the advice of Nation of Islam leader, Hon Louis Farakhan, who makes the point repeatedly that the wealth of the people of the Caribbean lies under their feet. If we fail to do so, we will see more crimes, violence and beggary.
Ed Singh
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