Why keep blaming the Foreign Businesses?

Jan 07, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

Kaieteur News – It is convenient to use the word “Foreigners”, as written in the editorial, “Foreigners are having fun at Guyanese expense”, as written in KN 6th of Jan. Add to that; another article “Omai boasts of US$3B gold find”, with its contract with Guyana shrouded in secrecy. Let’s be blunt and say what we actually mean. Foreigners means white people.
The fact is this -Whites collectively have a better business acumen approach than non-whites outside of the US/Europe and Australia. Honestly, do the average Guyanese believe in quality of service, accountability, efficiency, attention to detail, being able to read the fine print within these 100 page contract documents or putting in the long hours at work as the white people do? The answer is No. We talk a lot, but we fall short here of having the same priorities and qualities which make these multinationals in Guyana successful. Look no further than the Republic of Congo; exploited by multinational corporations with their vast amount of earth minerals, including cobalt which is used in smartphones and laptops. Yet, is one of the poorest countries in the world, as a result of sheer greed and managerial incompetency in managing its wealth.
At what point do we realise that the problem might just be with the inability or shortcomings of the local workforce at the operational level and higher and not with the foreigners. There comes a point at which we have to look within ourselves, and at our workforce and honestly admit that we are not capable of doing many simple things. This is a country where there is no such thing as project management, only on paper. University degree holders still give permits to businesses to build buildings with no thought of adequate parking space. Degree holders not realising that in a place like Guyana, carving out space for vendors, so they all assemble in a designated space is necessary. Degree holders not realising that multipurpose roads need to be built that can accommodate construction vehicles, massive 18 wheel trucks and small cars as seen abroad, all traversing the same road. The list is endless. And let’s not forget a fire station, situated for years in the worst location possible – Stabroek Market. These areas may seem trivial to the average Guyanese, but the international business community has taken all of these things into consideration, when they want to draw conclusions on our thought process and our abilities. So when they are able to get the people in high positions (regardless of party affiliation) to sign these unbalanced contracts much to their benefit – we should not be surprised.
In fairness, we can only blame the foreigners to a certain point. They are doing what they are expected to do in a global world, with their first priority being to maximise their profits; and getting the upper hand. If the local workforce in Guyana is submissive to them, unable to speak confidently and have a firm understanding of the subject matter being discussed or too ignorant or stubborn to hire consultants that have the experience in conducting business with seasoned multinationals – then it’s our fault.
We have to start looking at our shortcomings. Either we have the well rounded capable skills to go head to head with the multinationals or we don’t. They are expected and paid to outwit and outsmart us, and get bonuses for doing so. For the “Foreigners” – it is strictly business.

Chi Kansi

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