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In reverse gear
Guyana has the equivalent of First World wealth but continues to embrace a Third World mentality. We are filthy (unbelievably) rich but dirt poor when it comes to managing our resources, when we accept whatever is shoved down our throats.
While our oil reserves have not yet been fully quantified, we know it is among the top 20 in the world. If properly managed and the best deal is obtained for us, oil offers every Guyanese the chance to live like Kings and Queens.
On Saturday during his inaugural address, President Irfaan Ali touted the revival of the agricultural sector, including sugar and rice. Yes, rice, sugar, bauxite, gold, diamonds, and timber have all been part of our country’s economic lifeline but, in the context of oil production, we have to question whether the President’s emphasis is not misguided and misplaced.
Oil is a game changer. Oil can make us less dependent on the traditional sectors. Our newfound oil wealth can make every Guyanese rich beyond their imagination. It also has the potential to make the country the strongest economy in the Caribbean, as Trinidad and Tobago was 40 years ago.
That is why we are concerned about the emphasis that the President is placing upon the traditional sectors. Here we are poised on the threshold of enormous riches and our leaders are in reverse gear. Our focus and priorities should be on obtaining the best possible deal for our petroleum resources (from end to end) so that our people are not compelled to go back to ‘scratching out a living’ by cutting cane and planting rice.
The choice is ours: our leaders can go backwards or they can listen, discover and appreciate the enormity of the wealth, which we really have and renegotiate the existing oil agreements so that a better deal can be had, which would allow every Guyanese to live like royalty.
President Ali – Exxon’s knee is already on our neck. Please don’t allow the other oil companies to put their knees on our throats next.
Over to you President Irfaan Ali, it is time for Guyanese to walk among the elite within the oil industry.
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