Latest update October 20th, 2026 11:34 AM
Laws
Editorial…
Kaieteur News- Of what good are laws when they are confined to bookshelves, the bottom of filing cabinets? Laws of Guyana that could resonate if put into action grow old from neglect, and without the muscle to make a difference. So, they languish, due to the lack of government will to enforce them, and make them deliver what benefits all Guyanese. Lawbreakers celebrate their good times and good fortune. The law-abiding wonder to themselves, of what use are the laws, when they are observed more in the breach or selectively applied.
There are drug laws, and that’s it, because to employ the full range of them could trap some unwanted local big fish. The will and clean hands are still to be found to make these laws show results against a scourge that hounds Guyana in different ways. There is the human wreckage, the financial implications, the national reputation, and the weaknesses that haunt local law enforcement efforts. With the uses of such laws so limited, so watered down, it is not improper to question their presence, their overall meaning other than for window-dressing. We have laws, and we are a people of laws (and not men). Is this truly so?
There are cybercrime laws, but they are conspicuous for where they don’t go, in avoiding violators who seem to enjoy grants of immunity. From the record, a strong case could be made that enforcement of laws in Guyana often seemingly boils down to more of political calculation than the appropriate prosecutorial zeal of the State. Zeal that is coherent and sustained and authentic, and not just for the show, with a slap on the wrist as the objective. The result is violence in the anonymity of cyberspace that comes close to matching the violence of the streets. When evenhanded enforcement could be an agent of change, the arms of the State, and the leading voices in the State, are either stilled or go through the motions of their hypocrisies.
Not enforcing laws, or not moving to enhance existing laws, has become a hallmark of this PPPC Government, a brand that differentiates it for the worst reasons. What reasons could there be not to prioritize using millions of US dollars in hand to strengthen existing frameworks in the oil and gas sector? And then, why not take the automatic next step? Meaning, diligently search for the skills needed to complement those same legal and institutional frameworks in a sector that holds so much promise for Guyanese? Guyanese are either dealing with a government that prevents itself from getting the best out of its laws or observing one that prioritizes leadership calculations. Calculations that have nothing to do with what benefits citizens. We doubt that the government has made its biggest priority the drive to give itself tools and resources to squeeze every last benefit due from the ballooning oil and gas sector.
New oil projects have rolled out of ExxonMobil’s vision in a sustained burst. Those new oil projects also roll off the PPPC Government’s approval line with so much lacking, so much that it discomforts Guyanese. From monitoring what really goes on at the offshore operations of the ExxonMobil-led consortium to obtaining the level of expert oversight that would make the petroleum sector perform in an acceptable way, and in a manner untainted by political hands. From all indications, these are the last things on the government’s agenda for implementation. There is the deplorable situation where Guyana’s oil and gas sector is effectively overseen by a one-man management team, a one-man petroleum commission, and a one-man cabinet. Guyanese have been eyewitnesses to their own government standing shoulder-to-shoulder with ExxonMobil in the courts, fighting against the safety and interests of citizens. A country of laws, or of men, in this instance, at the behest of the one man who is a law unto himself.
Oil is a brand-new field for Guyana. It demands new energies, new eyes, new skills, with laws to bolster them, and which are applied with a sure hand. To do otherwise is to cheat this country of its potential, set it up for long-term failure. Laws are not for ornamentation, but implementation. We do so robustly, and the dreamed-of potential can be realized.
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Similar Articles
Website Hits
Blunt of the day
Sports
Features/Columnists
Sir. Ronald Sanders
The GHK Lall Column
Weekend Cartoon
