Guyana could be the biggest loser

Mar 31, 2021 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

Guyanese are so busy squabbling over everything that the bigger picture eludes them. The PPP government, led by its brainy VP, is so arrogant in its convictions that it makes jackasses of Guyanese, it barrels unheedingly down set roads: divide, mislead, dissemble, and devastate people and prospects. The outlook is that Guyana could be the biggest loser when the dust settles.
There is a great game at work, and it is not by the unforgivable Khyber. It is right here and right now, before our eyes, except that we are too busy undermining each other, with PPP leaders being the worst offenders. When they should be paying attention, they are grasping for what they can get. There is Venezuela looking for a way out of destructive dilemmas. There is China and Russia and America and the old Persia (Iran) angling for a seat at the Venezuelan table. It is a table laden with some 304 billion barrels of oil. All those powers have a heavy interest in getting a big piece of that rich action. In comparison, Guyana is still attractive, but pretty bland, when placed next to the gorgeous figure(s) of Venezuela’s many beauties. They are mouthwatering concessions for explorations; massive investments needed for infrastructure; broad partnering for enduring prosperities; and the electrifying economic and military powers made possible by being near (nearest) to those blinding seductions. They are enough to make sane leaders lose their equilibrium. None wants to be left out.
I believe that sanity prompts both America and Venezuela to find ways to unlock horns. Sanctions have had their day. And with China, Russia, and Iran making their plays, America cannot afford losing out. For it to gift Venezuela to Easterly heavyweights, would be the equivalent of China abandoning Hong Kong and Taiwan; or Russia surrendering Siberia. The pressures are building on both Venezuela (Maduro) and America (Biden) to change course; the former has signalled he is about business, the latter treads gingerly. Time is not on America’s side, as its competitors want their piece of the prized Venezuelan package, and Senor Maduro is well positioned to play them against one another. Should my fellow Americans take objection; matters can get really warm around here. America just cannot risk being on the outside in its own backyard.
Editor, this is the present Great Game played here. Our oil would not be abandoned; it just fades into relative insignificance, our current relevance secondary. Speak to a united political and racial front for a concerted national thrust, and I become Judas Iscariot. They call it backdoor coalition overtures. To calmer, more constructive, minds I submit this: a resurgence of Venezuela could mean indifference to Guyana. America has to be in that hunt. It has to adjust its hardline position(s). I think that it must rework its relationship with Venezuela, which I suspect is in motion, and has implications for Guyana. Meanwhile, Guyanese leaders play their many self-defeating games; Guyana could be the biggest loser.

Sincerely,
GHK Lall

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News