Matters of concern

Dec 21, 2019 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

It has been quite some time since I wrote an article to your newspaper. Today I shall write briefly on certain topics which may be of interest to the People of Guyana. These subjects concern the following:
1] Elections
2] The Presidency
3] The future development of Guyana
4] The Judicial System
1] Elections. I am indeed very happy and comfortable that elections will be held sometime in March of next year. At least this demonstrates that Guyana is still a democratic country, where the people of the country have the right to exercise their voting rights. Also, not to mention the number of political parties fighting to rule the country for the next five years. This is true democracy at work.
2] The Presidency. It continually appears that in the political parties there are several candidates to be President. However, a President must possess certain qualities that go beyond simply speaking well and good economic policies. A president must have true humanitarian qualities which must emanate from within and set an example for the rest of the society to aspire to. A] These include taking care of the weakest in society such as vulnerable infants, elderly suffering from illnesses, single mothers, abused women, etc. By taking care of the weakest in society we strengthen the overall social and moral fabric of society and this should definitely come from the President who should lead by example. B] The President must advocate for education to be free for all from nursery straight through to University level. In this way Guyana will produce a work force that is capable of continually developing the growth of the Guyanese economy.
C] As our Founder leader, the late Hon. Linden Forbes Burnham said, “we must be able to feed, clothe and house the nation. It is my disgust to see people walking the streets, half naked, looking for something to eat from bins and sleeping on pavements. One shudders to think what occurs when it rains.”
While there may be such a person in Guyana or in the Political parties, I cannot tell the voting public whom they can choose. It is their choice. Vote with your mind and spirit.
3] The Development of Guyana. Every day I have read about the oil industry and its benefits. These benefits are of course welcome but whilst there are so many obvious flaws in the oil contracts and as yet legislation to protect the local economy against foreign exploitation through various loopholes in the contracts which have yet to be closed should we not also focus on the existing industries of this country which must be further developed. Diversification of the economy is essential to buffer against any crashes in the oil prices in the future. These crashes are of course inevitable as oil operates in the boom and bust economic model and also is vulnerable to continuing passing legislation which continues to move the world economy away from fossil fuel dependency. For example in Germany there will be no more production of combustion engines after 2030.
These other industries include agriculture, gold, bauxite, manganese, uranium, tin, zinc, copper and a further plethora of as yet undeveloped industries. Agriculture for example if fully developed can supply the Caricom and also further afield. While the government was and still should be criticized for closing the sugar factories and estates no one takes into account the depreciation factor. When it was nationalized, this government and the last one took more equipment which had outlasted its usefulness or close to being worn out. The result was a fall in sugar production as the figures show. In my humble opinion the land from these closed estates should be formed into cooperatives where other crops can be cultivated. One must also look at the cost of production and the price of these other crops. This is where competent experts are needed. Not one square inch of land should be left uncultivated.
Due to the continuing evolution of the car industry from combustion to electric we should also look to diversify our power source in Guyana to Hydro, solar and even wind. Another issue with over reliance on oil is that the price is subject to fluctuation and this can adversely affect an undiversified economy therefore it is critical we move our energy source to alternatives as fast as possible.
4] The judicial system. Many people including politicians believe this system favours the ruling government. Nothing is further from the truth. Our system is as close to free and fair as any developing country around the world. Then we can always go to the C.C.J for a final ruling on matters.
To all Guyanese have a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Anthony Kissoon

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