Guyana always seems to come up with the short and dirty end of the stick

Sep 26, 2020 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

The price of power is already proving to be extremely costly for Guyana. ‘Maduro must go’ was the first unequivocal pound of flesh extracted. No sooner that the dust had settled on that, than the Payara approval became imminently official. As a news item that is so pathetic, it should have been relegated to the area reserved for the comics and cartoons.
Come to think of it, the Payara approval should be a cartoon, a long running one. Alison Redford, QC, former premier, one-time disgraced political operator, and also World Bank busybody and regulatory goody two shoes failed her own people in Canada. What could this highly hailed, heavily touted betrayer of Canadian public trust do for the Guyanese public and their interests and future? Nothing! Absolutely nothing.
And that is precisely what the Payara review resulted in and delivered. What started out with much fanfare, now fades into the whimper of the now routine Guyanese oil murk. Hefty fines are nice, but who is going to twist Exxon’s arm and get it to step up and pay up? Is it worth it when endless hours and fatiguing efforts would have to be wasted to pin the people at Exxon down and make them pony up for violations?
Even if we do succeed at this, Exxon gets off cheaply and should be smirking over its good fortune. For what is sure to be defined as “hefty” in the thinking of Guyanese is nothing but a mere droplet in Exxon’s bucket. If I were an Exxon executive I would be celebrating at the outcome of the review and be much appreciative of Canada and Canadian Alison Redford who lived up to expectations.
Since Guyanese leaders and Guyanese citizens have such low expectations on returns for our oil, both would count themselves as coming out on top. It is the equivalent of giving a thousand-dollar bill to a man who had never seen one before. He thinks he is Rockefeller, Getty and Warren Buffett all rolled into one. He, too, dances on his silly head in rapturous celebration.
Leaders in the PPP government now have “hefty fines” on largely environmental issues to sell to a gullible Guyanese public. The propaganda onslaught is already underway with the Hon. Minister of Natural Resources going out in front and conditioning Guyanese minds for more of the smoothing, followed by the tarring that is in the works. I must congratulate the Hon. Minister in being a quick learner, getting with the programme, and confirming his place and perch in the avian family he is so much a part of already. A regular parrot is he.
But behind all the parroting and posturing, Guyana always seems to come up with the short and dirty end of the stick. In fact, the foreigners come with their big stick and beat us on the head. They do not even walk with a carrot these days when they come with their sticks to get what they want. First, it was Mike Pompeo and his blitzkrieg that left Guyana breathless and senseless. We will hold the bag on that one for a long time. It is a mixed bag, with America managing to squeeze out every objective, major and minor, while Guyana gets some much-needed protection and the dubious prospect of incurring Venezuelan wrath and provocations. I am inclined to believe that that firing by Syndicato criminals (mostly former Chavez and Venezuelan army men) at our forces around the Cuyuni area represented the first fusillade of fire coming from that side. I think it is to register anger and distress at what transpired during the visit of the American secretary of state.
And second, we are now being massaged and soothed with early media reports of “hefty fines” for environmental violations. It is better than nothing, but if this is the best that Guyana gets out of the Payara review, then it would have been better if the Canadian contingent had stayed home. What a bunch of lousy and crafty sellouts!
Leaders showed that they were prepared to pay the heavy prices for the power that they lusted over, and now have to deliver on their side of the bargain. Venezuela was one and Payara the second. What else is left for the outsiders to come and demand? What else are Guyanese leaders ready to sell so that they can traverse the corridors of power? We have been shredded of thinking, standing, and anything that is honouring, bracing, or inspiring. These are part of the prices paid for power at any cost and by any means.

Sincerely,
GHK Lall

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