Foreign companies boasting of Guyana’s wealth while Guyanese struggle to feed their families

Jul 31, 2023 News

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…K/News Publisher calls for day of strike action against return to dark age of slavery

Kaieteur News – Despite the abundance of natural resources discovered in Guyana, especially with the onset of oil production activities in the Stabroek Block, Guyanese across the country have been struggling to provide for their families.

More recently, the foreign multinational companies have been boasting of the value of Guyana’s resources and its potential to drive their growth. On the other hand, the quality of lives for Guyanese remain stagnant, while some fear this may even change for the worse in the coming days with Guyana now being ranked a high-income nation.

Publisher of Kaieteur News, Mr. Glenn Lall believes the time is ripe for citizens to take a stand against what he describes as the “reap, rape and robbery” of the country’s resources, with foreigners bagging the lion’s share of the profits from Guyana, while the country and its citizens remains impoverished, turning to lending institutions for assistance.

Lall in a recent public message explained, “In one day, three white people boasting about Guyana’s wealth and what it means for them. The spokeswoman for ExxonMobil the largest oil company on earth, boasting to the world, that Guyana is the future for that company. Where is our future? Who boasting for the Guyanese people, the owners of that oil?”

He went on to point out that on that same day, it was reported that a Canadian gold company, that just entered Guyana, told their investors that the country has favourable mining laws, backed by a supportive government. The businessman pointedly noted that this means the companies are allowed to do as they please on Guyana’s mineral-rich lands as the government is supportive of that. To this end, he asked, “Who is supporting you with your grocery bills?”

A third foreign company, as published in Kaieteur News on July 27, 2023 said it was grateful to Guyana for contributing to its significant profits in 2023, despite the drop in oil prices. It was Hess Corporation, a 30 percent stakeholder in the oil rich Stabroek Block that made the pronouncement.

Lall responded, “Who is boasting about Guyana share of profits in 2023?” He said the Opposition parties and government are boasting about paying US$150 million in 2022 to service the country’s US$3 billion debt. The newspaper Publisher was keen to note that of the US$150 million paid last year, a whopping US$44 million alone was interest payments.

In this regard, he reasoned, “Our wealth is disappearing in the US billions, your gold, your diamond going out, your timber, your manganese, your bauxite, and now your oil by the shiploads and plane loads weekly.” At the same time, he highlighted that “three quarter of our citizens can’t buy a pound of chicken to eat, or a tin of milk to feed their baby.”

Lall, a stern advocate for good governance and transparency in Guyana urged that Guyanese stay away from work today, Monday July 31, 2023 to send a strong signal to the country’s leaders that the robbery of the country’s resources must not be allowed to continue.

He said, “Can you please stay home Monday, The day before Emancipation Day, to start emancipating ourselves from this type of slavery, to show these…leaders in both camps that we will not sit silent any longer and allow them to take bribes from the foreigners to sell out our future.”

To do otherwise, the newspaper Publisher believes Guyana will head back to the days of slavery and indentureship. Lall urged, “This reap, rape and rob must to come to a full stop, let’s be unified, shut shop, stay home on Monday, let’s show them the power of the people.”

Ugandan President calls for end to ‘modern day slavery’ in Africa

While Lall has been leading the charge locally for Guyana to benefit more from its natural resources, leaders on the African Continent too have been taking a stand against the exploitation of its resources, demanding it be paid more to feed their people.

Recently, the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni during a high level meeting with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin and other Heads of States pointed out that while Africa is paid US$2.5 for a kilogram of coffee, the product is refined outside of his country and is resold at US$40 per kilogram.

The President said, “The Global value of coffee businesses is currently is US$460 billion, this is the value of coffee in the world, however all the coffee producing countries in the world- Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam take only US$25 billion out of this.”

President Museveni was keen to note that Africa’s share is US$2.5 billion of the US$460 billion, with Uganda taking US$800 million. On the other hand, he highlighted that Germany, a known coffee producing country earns US$6.58 billion from its coffee, or more than all the African coffee producing countries.

According to him, “This is part of modern slavery, this is the modern slavery,” as he went on explain the cause of the issue. Museveni noted that Africa is being locked into, and is more so locking itself into producing all the raw materials in agriculture, minerals, etcetera all to the detriment of its economy.

The room was notably uncomfortable as he described the situation as “the hemorrhage that has stunted Africa’s growth.”

He explained that there are other instances where this was occurring as he noted if this is addressed; Africa’s food problem too could also be partially addressed.

 

 

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• boasting, foreign, oil, resources, return, slavery

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