Mass protests are missing in action!

Feb 06, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – I came upon a destitute man who I had known for many years. Seeing him in such a dire and poorly state, I took out a $5,000 note and handed it to him.

He looked at me and said, “Yuh don’t have anything smaller? This is too much money for me.”

Here was a man facing extreme hardships for a long time but who was refusing a $5,000 because the money was more than he had ever known or had. He could not see himself having such a sum at one time. It was too much money for him to deal with. When persons question why it is that Guyanese have not taken to mass protests over the Production Sharing Agreement signed by the government with Exxon, CNOCC and Hess, I often tell them that story. You see Guyanese have known great hardships. The country was reduced for decades to the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. And therefore people do not expect much. They therefore settle for the poor royalties, profit sharing and no corporation taxes because they are not accustomed to getting a better deal. For them the take from the 2% royalties and 12.5% profit sharing is ‘big money.’

The second reason why there have been no mass protests is that the shortchanging by the oil companies have not been experienced in a personal way. It is not as if the public went to market and bought five oranges but when they went home, three were rotten; it is not as if the oil companies have plundered their bankbooks. The loss therefore was not direct and personal. And thus, the personal outrage which could trigger mass protests has not been experienced. The third reason has to do with the political divisions in our society. The majority of the supporters of the APNU+AFC do not wish to condemn the oil deal because to do so would be to indict the parties which they support. The supporters of the PPPC do not wish to come forward and criticize their government for failing to honour the promise to renegotiate the oil deal. They see this as providing fodder for the Opposition and so they remain silent. With such a divided polity, the oil companies do not really have to worry about renegotiation.

The fourth reason for the lack of mass protests has to do with the fear of victimization. Opportunities in Guyana are limited and the PPP/C has been known to be a vindictive party. You can run but you can’t hide from the government. And when you are victimized, you may get some support for a while, but afterwards you become a forgotten figure. The government has already been venomous and disparaging towards those opposed to the oil deal. There is no shortage also of persons who are willing to do the government dirty deeds.

The fifth reason is that the government has been able to mitigate disaffection over the oil deal by offering small benefits to the people. The government has used targeted transfers to give cash grants and this helps make people feel that they are benefiting from the oil boom. As part of the PPP/C’s build up to local government elections, roads are being done across the coastland. The improvement in community roads is helping to make people feel that they are benefiting from the oil revenues. What the public does not realize is that the bulk of the oil revenues will end up in the hands of contractors as part of the transformative infrastructure agenda of the PPPC.

The sixth reason is that there is no political party which has taken up this issue with any seriousness. The APNU+AFC cannot be expected to do so because they were the ones who signed the sordid deal with the oil companies. The PPP/C has opted not to renegotiate the deal. To whom therefore can the public look to mobilize mass demonstrations against the oil deal?

After the rigged elections of 1985, the Opposition parties, small and large, came together into a Coalition to struggle for free and fair elections. But there are no political parties in Guyana which is going to come together to press for a better oil deal. Civil society in Guyana remains weak and therefore cannot be expected to organize any mass protests. And egos within civil society are so bloated that even the thought of assembling a coalition of civil society groupings to contest is a mission impossible. But the struggle for a fair oil deal has not relented. That struggle is still young and is in now in the phase of public education. Public education is needed to help the future generation appreciate how their future has been pawned by the country’s three main political groups – two of which have put us in the mess we are in; and the third is not willing to change course. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)