Movement of the people

Mar 18, 2025 Editorial, News

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Editorial…

Kaieteur News- We have editorialised ad nauseam how the leaders of this country by their policies and actions have robbed its citizens the right to a fairer, better life with the resources we have. And it is not by accident that the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has been calling on them to show citizens how the revenues from the extractive sector have been spent.

Hundreds of Guyanese continue to flee this country to North America and even in the Caribbean- places with less resources for a better standard of life at a time when we are listed as the fastest growing economy and our oil and gas resources among the coveted natural gifts of this world. As we have said here before, things have to be bad when a country loses one of every three of its citizens to migration. What makes it worse is when two of every three qualified persons opt to migrate. And this has been the case ever since the latter years of the last century when the economic conditions began to deteriorate.

People always want a style of living that is comfortable, one in which the ordinary people can watch their children grow to become people their parents themselves had hoped to be but never became; a life that affords some recreation and leisure rather than one of constantly wondering about the next meal and the mounting bills. The cost of living in Guyana has gone through the roof and the government’s response is to throw a $100,000 cash grant at it hoping that will wipe away the sorrow from the faces of struggling families, while billions are being siphoned off through shady contract deals and other dubious arrangements.

Struggling citizens have scant interest in another road or water project or some scheme that involves cement and steel, and the many millions that go into them, to erect new monuments to our prosperity. Whose prosperity, certainly not the many citizens living in poverty, and often hungry? Guyanese learn of more loans taken, and more millions borrowed for building road and educational and health capacity, and they wonder what about the yawning, gnawing capacity in their stomachs that cannot be half-filled almost daily. Why is it with all the sweet political speeches from leaders that citizens still live at the same standard (perhaps worse) as 11 years ago, when the first announcements came about oil discoveries?

The statistics say that Guyanese are incredibly rich, yet there are all these citizens of Guyana that struggle to buy greens and vegetables to put a simple meal on the table for their families. The PPPC Government, an unequalled master at propaganda, has said that it cares. The question that can be asked is what does the Government and its leaders really care about, aside from the self-enriching interests of both. When everything else becomes a distant second, when the struggles of poor and weak and vulnerable citizens amount to more opportunities for political games, then care is not a factor.  But only another instance of the conceits and corruptions that control the minds of the government specifically, and local politicians in general.

In OPED late last year, Eraina Yaw, Head of Office for IOM Guyana and Deputy Coordinator for IOM Caribbean wrote: “Guyana stands at the cusp of remarkable economic transformation, driven by recent oil discoveries and an expanding industrial base. However, to fully realise this potential, we must adeptly manage labour migration, ensuring that the benefits of growth are equitably distributed among all Guyanese. This involves a holistic approach encompassing labour mobility, training, certification, and the recognition of skills, including prior learning.”

Her views align with a previous report by the World, which stated that a substantial percentage of Guyanese citizens reside abroad, with 39% of all Guyanese citizens currently residing abroad.

The Bank also noted that a large share of Guyanese with tertiary education have emigrated to countries in North America, Europe, and the Caribbean owing to better economic opportunities, higher standards of living, and access to housing and healthcare. The World Bank had identified brain drain as a significant issue for Guyana, and urged that policies should focus on strengthening social protection systems, achieving universal health care, and improving the quality of tertiary and technical education to address brain drain. Guyanese will continue to seek opportunities in the proverbial greener pastures and despite all this oil- many who have fled these shores during the bad days are still not inclined to return, because as far as they are concerned their resources have been handed to the foreigners who cut deals with their corrupt leaders.

(Movement of the people)

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• Caribbean, Editorial, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Fastest growing economy, North America, Oil and Gas

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