Guyanese must insist on a stake in their own country

Feb 11, 2020 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

My visit to Albouystown, an inner city community in Georgetown, last Monday, revealed to me the hopelessness of its residents. Most households have no jobs, poor housing, narrow roads and poor sanitation. It was clear to me that this community, just a mile from the Office of the President, and less than a mile from the Corporate and commercial Georgetown and Government Ministries, that this was a forgotten part of Guyana.
The hopelessness there and the plight of former and even current workers around the Sugar and Bauxite communities and those in rural Guyana tell the sad story that ordinary Guyanese do not have a stake in their own country. The promise of independence has eluded us for more than fifty three years now.
Our failure at managing our rich natural wealth after nationalization of the commanding heights of our economy in the seventies and then the partial privatization in the nineties did not give Guyanese any significant stake in our own economy.
Bauxite was leased to Russian owned Rusal, GT&T to American controlled ATN, our major Gold and other resources to foreign owned companies, now Oil and Gas resources to big Foreign Oil Companies. The major value from our resources is created overseas and the billions are made and retained by societies overseas. In the divestment of these resources no attempt was ever made to retain any form of local ownership to ensure that Guyanese have a stake in our own country.
The consequence is that we continue to be employees, being paid little, with no participation in profits, and when the finite resources run out or become marginal we have nothing to show, not even the little employment. On top of that our Government takes a disproportionate amount from us through an extortionately high level of taxation. Then even worse they squander, waste and misappropriate those taxes by a big, corrupt bureaucracy.
Our constitution in its current form and the racially divisive politics of the PPP and PNC are the biggest impediments to our progress. It gives rise to large, wasteful and incompetent Governments that rob us of our earnings. Racial division and voting along ethnic lines supports corruption in public office and undermines democracy. It makes Politicians behave as “Lord of the Land” neglectful of the needs of the masses.
This is vividly shown by their record in Government.
– Plight of Bauxite workers at Kwakwani – left destitute by neglectful governments who give the rights to our Bauxite to foreign companies instead of the residents there
– Lands at Wales being distributed by APNU to foreign companies instead of the poor, displaced sugar workers
– The entire riverfront at Wales/Patentia given to an Oil major rather than leased to a company whereby sugar workers hold the shares but then rented to provide the people of that community with employment and a stream of income.
– The same experience with lands of closed Diamond Sugar Estate lands, not one acre given to displaced sugar workers, but to political elites of the PPP
– GT&T shares sold by PPP to a Chinese Company instead of the employees of that Company.

We must create structures and systems that give everyone, businessmen and women, but also the average person, nurses, teachers, police, public servants, a stake in our economy. We must not be only employees, we must be owners. While we encourage and invite foreign investors who bring capital and technology, we must create and foster a culture of entrepreneurship at every level. Poverty has no place in a resource rich country like ours if managed well politically. We must eliminate poverty from every corner of our country.
Policy makers must lead with the right policies to create a fertile ground to spur this quest for ownership. The transformation this would bring to our economy is limitless.
We must have a stake in our own country.
– ownership of lands
– Ownership of businesses
– Ownership of our coastline, our seafront & riverfront, our mountains and grasslands
– Our gold, diamond, bauxite, oil & gas

To achieve the transformation this new thinking brings Guyana needs new leadership. It requires rallying all Guyanese around this new vision, mobilizing the resources, building confidence in leadership in an inclusive, transparent and accountable Government. The racially divisive politics of the PPP and APNU have failed and therefore has no place in this new Guyana.
Their record in Government tells a tale of failed promises, Incompetence and mismanagement. Extortionately high levels of taxes to finance large expensive, large, inefficient bureaucracy have resulted in more than 30 percent of our people in poverty, unemployment of 30 percent, youth unemployment of 40 percent, massive migration, escalating crime, daily blackouts, poor medical care.
What If? Had we insisted on accountability in Government by voting differently:
– We could have had a bridge across the Demerara River and a bridge across the Corentyne River.
– A network of highways and roads to the Airport and Lethem and across our country.
– State of the art hospitals in Georgetown and across Guyana.
– 5 G Telecommunications infrastructure.
– A state of the art smart grid delivering reliable, low cost electricity powering our homes and industry
– Large scale agricultural and industrial developments in our city and coastlands

Just look at the contrast with the Governments of our two neighbours, Trinidad and Suriname. The Trinidadian Prime Minister insisted on a royalty of 12.5% on its Gas resources. Suriname securing 6.5% plus taxes of 36% plus selling the oil blocks with a large selling bonus, a method similar to our Change Guyana’s, plan. The difference in leadership is glaring, and that’s why the people in those countries enjoy a higher standard of living.

Robert Badal
Presidential Candidate
Change Guyana

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