Do Guyanese buy locally produced items?

Jun 25, 2021 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Kaieteur News – One of the problems in the civilised world is the inherent flaws of Homo sapiens that make life difficult, overbearing and sad. One of the questions existentialist philosophers face all the time is, if there isn’t God to guide human action in decent and honest ways, then the world becomes a jungle.
The existentialists argue that each human must understand that since there is no omnipotent eye overlooking people, then each one of us must take the place of God and become omnipotent, meaning do good things for others. The great French existentialist philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre, wrote that “the project” is the alternative to God in which human invents a project to make life meaningful for everyone.
Society has never operated that way. What humans want for themselves they do not give to others. I remember a few years ago, I went to the Brickdam Police Station to secure bail for one of my nephews after his employer, Afro Alphonso family company, accused him of stealing coconuts.
The female sergeant in charge of the station for that night refused to discuss bail with me and was rude. She got into a big quarrel with two junior ranks accusing them of not doing their routine work and it will cause her to be late to get home to take care of her son.
I went up to her and boldly told her that just as she is concerned about her son, others are concerned about their children. Here was a perfect manifestation of the inherent flaws of human nature. She didn’t care if the young man was remanded but she was interested in her son’s welfare.
Right in that station the night was another manifestation of the congenital insensitivity of humans. Alfro Alphonso’s guards had beaten up my nephew and there were conspicuous injuries on his face. I insisted if the police are going to charge my nephew then the guards have to be charged for criminal assault. The presiding officer at the time was Superintendent Marlon Chapman. He agreed that the guards could have beaten up my nephew and that both parties had to be charged. That was the end of that.
This has been a very long introduction to the main subject of this column which I come to now but I am certain you will see the relevance. The Minister of Public Works recently met with travel agents. One of the complaints that emerged was that, Exxon was not buying airline tickets from Guyana but from the US thus, denying patronage to locals.
No decent human could agree with Exxon’s policy in this regard. One hopes that the wrong has been righted. This complaint brings into focus a tragic ambience in Guyana. We locals do not buy our own products. I see this tragedy each time I go into the supermarkets and it is painful to endure.
Now here is the devastating irony. Even local manufacturers do not buy Guyana-produced goods. Go into the house of these people and see what jams, jellies, fruit juices, biscuits, etc. they have. Last week, I was right behind the wife of a prominent Guyanese manufacturer.
She had three boxes of an American made orange juice in her trolley. Those imported juices have a number of chemicals in them that may be harmful. Her husband sells a local product but doesn’t buy Guyanese stuff. DDL sells fresh orange juice. Barbados box juices are cheaper than the American made ones. Barbados is a country all Guyanese should be grateful to. It saved Guyana during the 2020 election rigging drama.
I make it my duty to look into the trolleys of shoppers because it expands my insight each day on the nature of the Guyanese nationality. We just do not like to buy local products. It is a self-destructive act for several reasons. First, it saves foreign exchange. Secondly, it expands the tax collection base because more money for the manufacturers means more taxes collected.
Thirdly, it reduces unemployment. Most importantly it provides a livelihood for the working people of this country. I have a close friend who has two kids and an unemployed wife. He works for a local ice-cream manufacturing company. I don’t buy foreign ice-cream because my patronage keeps this gentleman employed.
It is a sad state of affairs and it ravishes the well-being of this poor nation. I look into the trolleys of those customers and I feel that some nations are just lost souls. Why would we not want to buy the things we need that are made right here, made right here by our fellow Guyanese companies? I guess one day, this nation may be saved.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Latest News

Do Guyanese buy locally produced items?

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

NSC, Office of the DPP to host Criminal Law and Sexual Offences Act...

Lucas Chung maintains strong standing at 2nd...

Farm Supplies Ltd. supports Bartica Regatta 2025

Legislation and Investment: Trinidad to Brazil,...

Three more matches billed for this weekend

CM Khan rules at 2025 National Blitz Chess...

Features/Columnists

“One Guyana” is no less a national slogan than “Green Guyana”

If Guyana’s President Ali is the “Zelensky of the Caribbean”, who is the Putin?

Partner v. investor

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

Do Guyanese buy locally produced items?

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]