I feel the coolness of the breeze that permeated the Guyana coastline from the letter penned by Chartered Accountant Nigel Hinds in the Kaieteur News of August 3. For this letter to be published just after we celebrated Emancipation Day seems very refreshing and applicable. Our Government should recognize, albeit their authority to govern our country, that their wisdom is not infinite and that lesser mortals, the likes of Nigel Hinds, Christopher Ram, David Hinds, Jan Mangal, Lincoln Lewis, Tarron Khemraj, Euclid Rose, Melinda Janki, Charles Ramson, Sase Singh, the IMF, the World Bank and others also possess the technical, scientific and managerial skills needed to secure the best outcome from a massive project like the Oil and Gas find in our country. Finally, we are about to see real economic success on the horizon for ourselves, our children and future generations.
Exxon is not in love with Guyana. They are there to exploit us and to grab as much of our resource for themselves. We have not learnt our lessons of the past. We brought in Omai, they took our gold and took the cream of the revenue. Barama exploited our forest (thank God it’s renewable) and exported the prime species and kept the bulk of the revenue in other countries. Bai Shan Lin did more damage to our forests than Barama. When will we wake up and recognize that we are being continuously screwed.Let us look at the countries that were once loved by Exxon. After the revenue flow dries up for Exxon, they disinvest in those countries and look for the next bait. Guyana is now their most lucrative investment and they intend to grab every penny they can get for themselves. Thank God for Kaieteur News for bringing to the Guyanese public the numerous atrocities countries faced with Exxon, the latest being Alaska (a State within the United States) for paying hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees to get their fair share of revenue.Guyanese, please put aside the race baiting of political parties and let us join forces together with the Government to make a better deal for us. Take a walk in the cemetery and see if race matters there. Whether we consider ourselves Amerindian, African, Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, Mixed race or whatever, we are all dead men and women in the cemetery.
Nigel Hinds and others have started a journey to secure a better future for us. Let us all be a part of this journey, as we ask the Government to put aside animosity against anyone and let us work together to make our country outstanding. Yes we can.
August 5th, 2018
