The EPA must be open with Guyanese

Jul 14, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,

That the EPA is allowed to function in its present capacity is an insult and a mockery to all Guyanese. It is incredible, how by not embracing change, we can become ignorant of purpose. I can safely say that for many, curiosity, the imagination and the ability to think did not survive formal education.
On July 9, 2021, I was present at a Gas-to-Energy consultation session at the Umana Yana. I got there with an open mind, carried on wings of…
(1) Benjamin Franklin who said….
“It is the first responsibility of every Citizen to Question Authority.”
(2) James Baldwin who said….
“Ignorance allied with power is the most dangerous enemy of Democracy and the Justice System.” Armed with this, one can only be involved with Purpose and Conviction. I was expecting my fill of specific environmental aspects of the project/Global perspectives but it was not to be. Luckily, with the Energy I saved on the wings of the two gentlemen I mentioned, I was able to walk out of the Umana Yana with the weight of disappointment and the burden of the ignorance of our Leaders.
There was no consultation at the Umana Yana. Instead, there was a sales pitch. Mr. Mike Ryan, the Production Manager and the Senior Representative of Exxon, found it difficult in suppressing his colonial mentality. He began his sales pitch by expressing his enthusiasm about working with the EPA and the Government of Guyana to make the project a reality.
After working here for three years, Mr. Mike Ryan should know that we are not little black Boys and little black Girls.
Speaking from my own gut, “I am not Exxon’s Niggar.” The EPA has already rolled over. Carts don’t pull donkeys.
It is obligatory that the EPA present a Professional study on the environmental impact of the project to all and educate Guyanese before doing a consultation.
For years, we have lived the lies of having a Climate Tzar/Guru among us. I beg to know how Humpty Dumpty got on that wall.
The EPA should let the Climate Tzar/Guru give them a Lecture on the method used by EXXON to slap around The SEC, The US Congress and the EITI, before being privileged to kick Guyana in the teeth.
The EPA must be open with Guyanese, tell us how you will carry out your Mandate with international standards as is expected if the laws are not fine-tuned to give you the necessary powers. Is it possible that those who established the EPA 25 years ago, under the Environmental Protection Act, had self-seeking thoughts.
After centuries of enslavement, it is beyond comprehension how the EPA is cornered behind a white washed fence; corralled and find fascination with the acquired colours. We are One People with a common Destiny.
We should stop the crap talk about best Practice and Capacity building and first learn the true meaning of Patriotism. We must deconstruct our past and find every deliberate rotting fibre that was used because of laziness and the inability of our Leaders/Authority to think and plan.
May God help us all.
I wish you the best moving forward.

Sincerely,
Ray Daggers

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