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Tougher fines are a golden opportunity for more bribes

Jun 22, 2024 Dem Boys Seh, Features / Columnists, News

Kaieteur News – De Vee Pee, always full of bright ideas. Dis time, he seh de government gon institute tougher penalties and more stringent measures to stop gold smuggling. Now, we all know in Guyana, the stricter de government, the wiser de population. Is a natural law, like gravity or how pepper pot does always taste better when it stale.

So, dem boys seh if yuh raise de fines and penalties, yuh just raising de stakes in de game of who can pay the biggest bribe. Is like telling de fishermen yuh increasing de price of fish, and den acting surprised when dey go fish in de forbidden waters. De more yuh punish dem, de more creative dey get.

Now leh we talk about de real problem – de incentives. As long as exporting gold without royalties is sweeter than a black cake on Christmas, yuh gon have people smuggling. Is simple economics.

Imagine if yuh could stop all dis nonsense by just making smuggling less attractive. Yuh remove de royalties exemption on exports and bam! Suddenly, no point in sneaking around.

But wait, dis is Guyana. If we fix one loophole, dey gon find another. So we need a bigger net to catch dem sneaky fish.

Dat bring us to de next brilliant idea: Ban de importation and transshipment of gold for a while, other than by the government. Blame it on sanctions. Trust me, nobody questioning dat one. If yuh can’t import or move gold through Guyana, dem smugglers gon be left scratching dey heads and looking for a new hobby.

So instead of adding more fines and penalties, which just make pockets deeper and bribes bigger, let’s take away de reason to smuggle. It’s like taking away de sweets from de kids. Sure, dey gon cry and scream, but eventually, dey gon settle down and play nice.

De Vee Pee need to realize dis ain’t about punishing de wrongdoers harder, it’s about making de crime not worth de risk in de first place.

Remember, dem boys seh, yuh can’t stop de rain by building higher walls; yuh stop it by fixing de leaky roof. So fix de incentives, and watch how de gold smuggling dry up faster than a rum shop on Good Friday.

Talk half. Leff half.

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