History has shown that if our young people do not demand a change of attitude, things will stagnate

Apr 12, 2023 Letters

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Dear Editor,

Emerson’s words is a beacon light for Guyana today. He said ‘truth is too simple for us; we do not like those who unmask our illusion.”

Why we are being suffocated by senseless behaviour by the current administration is beyond belief. In a country blessed with tremendous natural resources and a relatively small population the time has come for the President to be a statesman and harmonize the talent and patriotic verve of every citizen. He and his ruling elite must make manifest the philosophical underpinnings of our national motto accepted when we became a nation state.

To do this he, his advisors and the state controlled media must arrest the extant hostility to the likes of the publisher of Kaieteur News, the editorial and writings of Stabroek News, Village Voice News, the few independent television stations and the many talk show hosts at home and abroad. Our struggle for independence suggests vindication for the suffering of our ancestors who were here thousands of years ago, those  who came in ships and were enslaved. Others toiled to make viable the plantations of our erstwhile masters.

Decades ago because of certain surveys our leaders including Forbes Burnham somehow believed that we had this valuable commodity- oil, onshore and offshore. In 1983 Forbes Burnham sent two of his trusted ministers to Libya to learn firsthand under the leadership of Muammar Gadaffi how they were managing the oil sector. For the benefit of every citizen, I make the following extrapolation: Libya has a population of over 6 million, Guyana’s population is less than a million. Libya produces 18 barrels per thousand population  per day while Guyana produces 54 barrels per 1000 population per day.

In LIbya education was completely free and all health and allied medical services completely free and where the hospitals could not deal with a complex medical issue you were sent abroad and the government defrayed the cost. Electricity to all households was free. Every married couple was given Fifty Thousand Dinars  to help them begin their new life. Gas at the pump was pegged at 14 cents per litre. The above shows that Guyana in so far as the proceeds from oil is concerned is in a far better position than Libya was . In addition. Libya assisted religious and other organizations outside of Libya to advance the cause of religious and cultural development in their countries.

But here is the bombshell: Kuwait and Guyana have the same production per capita 54 barrels per thousand population per day with the greatest oil production per unit of population in the world.

This is what Kuwait has done with their oil resources. 1 Scholarships are offered to attend approved universities in North America to pursue bachelor’s degrees and even Master’s degrees, tuition and allowances paid.

2 On marriage each Kuwaiti receives 6000 Dinars half of which is a soft loan and the other half is a gift.

3 Each citizen gets 50 kilos of rice ,50 kilos of sugar, oil , milk ,and chicken monthly.

4 Health care  is free and if care is required abroad the government pays for the same.

5 A sum of 50 Dinars is given per child along with baby milk

Mind you the production figures for Guyana are those purportedly given by the oil companies and made public. This means that our oil production per capita could be the highest in the world and that the eradication of poverty and want everywhere in Guyana is extremely easy.

The above factors and possibilities cannot be disputed. The million dollar question is why?

The answer is the urgent need for a change of attitude and an understanding that Guyanese citizens are important and deserving of being at the centre of policies to enrich their lives and that of their families. If our politicians could only stop being petty and politically pernicious Guyana and Guyanese can be the happiest people on earth.  In addition to the above indisputable facts, Guyana has grown in abundance timber, including the world’s best known hardwood greenheart.  We still have the attraction of unspoiled areas in many parts of our country. We have no natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, monsoons, tornadoes or floods.

Mr. Editor and readers, with the above blessings bounty and beauty of the Creator, guess what is our disaster? It is people in high places. History has shown that if our young people do not demand a change of attitude, things will stagnate and the wealth will not be evenly distributed. Our people, particularly the young, must agitate for the somersault for our debilitating tit for tat politics and the regurgitation of half-truths about our history, and it is a good time for us to plug for authentic Press freedom, which means ending the state control of sections of the media, which I bet dare not publish this letter.  These blessings can be a curse.

Yours sincerely,

Hamilton Green

Elder

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• administration, illusion, philosophical, Stabroek News, Village Voice News

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