Remember what Cheddi and Forbes said!

Jul 28, 2023 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – Guyana’s foremost anti-colonial leaders, Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham, understood the dangers of foreign control over Guyana’s natural resources. This type of understanding is totally lacking in the present crop of leaders and no doubt accounts for the pursuit of model which allows for Guyana’s gold, diamond, manganese, bauxite and now, its oil and gas, to be plundered by multinational and transnational corporations.

Cheddi Jagan once linked the problem of underdevelopment to the operations of foreign multinationals.  He bemoaned the country’s dependence on primary production and the exploitation of irreplaceable natural resources by foreign interests.

The present crop of political leaders have become so immersed in the neo-liberal order and so lacking in any alternative vision of development that they fail to appreciate the dangers of having foreign companies plunder Guyana’s natural resources. In the process, these companies expropriate the country’s wealth, ship out its raw material and profits and offer a pittance in return.

Despite clonal ruling ending more than 50 years ago in Guyana, certain principles remain infallible. Foremost amongst these is that developing countries should safeguard their natural resources, and for many reasons.

The concentration on natural resource extraction can lead to resource curse. This occurs when a country when a nation’s heavy reliance on extractive industries stifles the diversification of its economy. This over-dependence leads to volatility in economic growth and a lack of resilience during economic downturns, as witnessed in several resource-rich nations.

Guyana claims to be diversifying its economy. But has it not always claimed this. Yet today, if gold and oil were to collapse, the country would fall into dire economic straits. And this happen if Guyana exploits it oil too quickly at the behest of foreign multinationals which now totally decide how much oil and produced and at what pace.

When foreign corporations exploit such as Exxon Mobil come into your country, they are more interested in their profit margins that in national development. And by the time, they leave, the country remains poor.

Another reason why countries have to assume greater control over their natural resources has to do with the damage to the environment. A small group of Guyanese have been demanding that there be greater protections in the event of an oil spill. But their pleas are falling on deaf ears. And our leaders ought to know that the history of multinational corporations is that they give priority to profits over protection of the environment. Countries, like Guyana, must therefore assert greater control over their natural resources in order to safeguard the environment.

We hear our politicians speaking a great deal about protecting Guyana’s sovereignty. But while they mouth these rhetorical lines, they are allowing the erosion of the country’s economic sovereignty by selling out our resources to foreign companies. A former Minister claimed  that he was advised by an executive of a foreign multinational company not to respond to critics of the oil deal. This shows the sort of indirect political influence that multinationals can wield.

One of the strong arguments which both Burnham and Jagan used to make was that maintaining ownership and control over natural resources allowed for a country to set fair terms in their agreements with foreign multinationals. Local ownership and control does not necessarily translate to an absence of foreign participation in the natural resource sector and this is something that our present crop of leaders does not appreciate.

This Monday, Guyanese have an opportunity to let their leaders understand how they feel about the raping of the country’s natural resources by foreign companies. They have a chance to let their leaders understand their mistrust of them. They have an opportunity to signal their concern over the shortchanging of the country through the deals which have been signed by our leaders.

Monday July 31st is a ‘Day of Standstill’. Those who care – and everyone should care – should play their part in ensuring that our leaders get the message that Guyana’s natural resources wealth is sufficient to provide for a decent life for every citizen and for future generation.

But when these resources are handed over the foreign multinationals on unfair terms, then there is only one outcome: the country and its people will remain poor.

All Guyanese therefore should support the ‘Day of Standstill’. This is not about Glenn Lall. It is about the future of every citizen, their children and grandchildren. Stand up on Monday by supporting the ‘Day of Standstill’. Do not make any purchases and no work on that day!

(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.)

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• Cheddi Jagan, Forbes Burnham, leaders, Peeping Tom, understood

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