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Show us the FAO study minister

May 25, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

Where’s the beef, buddy?  Show wee dee money, ministah!  Those are some of the words aimed at the Hon. Minister of Agriculture, who had to do the honours as the latest front man for the PPP Government.  It involved that small, sensitive matter of oil production and the possible effects on hurting segments of the fishing sector. The minister has to deliver he cannot step back and disappear into the cobwebs.

He was the one who came forward and spoke of the disconnect between oil production and fishing fallouts experienced, as bolstered by a study executed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  They are good, reliable, old stock people there; well, they used to be, which I hope is still the case.  Pursuant to the articulations of the Hon. Minister (and he is that, let there be no doubt), there is a report on which he based his public pronouncements, the gist of which is there is no connection, no association, no devastation from oil operations out there in Exxon land.

I like the sound of that reassuring result coming out of the minister by way of the FAO.  I would like it more if the minister could be kind enough (and fearless enough) to produce the paper on which it was written.  Guyanese are desirous of seeing it, and reviewing it for themselves.  With due respect to the Hon. Minister (we must never forget that) and the venerable FAO, I hesitate but I must remind him that dis time nah lang time.  Meaning, the time for total belief, or any reliance, on what emerges out of the minds and mouths of ministers and their leaders is long gone.  It is a different day, and too many citizens here have been burned too often for trusting political producers with what they claim to be pure.  Regrettably, it has not been so, thus it must be seen to be believed.

The days of ‘yes, prime minister’ and ‘yes, minister’ are over.  This is not British comedy, but harsh Guyanese reality that we have lived with, and grimaced over.  The minister, therefore, must go back to his filing cabinet and retrieve the FAO report and deliver it to Guyanese.  That would be a production of substance, one that could only make the minister look good before all Guyana.  It is why I urge the minister, common on brother, deliver.  Give the people the goods; after all, this is a democracy, one that is hailed by no less a figure than His Excellency for being all about transparency.  Put the FAO story out there, and let Guyanese judge for themselves.  Only good things could come from such persuasive leadership action.

If anyone thinks I am giving the minister the benefit of the doubt, I am.  And if they still believe that he is being given too much rope, that is true too.  It is what is enshrined in the tenets of fairness and balance.  It is what he is due.  But only for this tranquil interlude.  I have every confidence that the man from agriculture will rise to the moment and sprout a twig.  Go for it, bro.

Sincerely,

GHK Lall

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