Dear Editor,
In one of the dailies there was a picture of two senior government ministers flanked on both sides by American officials under the caption “No immediate plans to build refinery here.” The article went on to state, “The US Government has warned that there are no immediate plans to build an oil refinery here”. That there is no outrage from the Guyanese public to these kinds of utterances is frightening.
The country has just celebrated 50 years as an independent nation. This means it should be capable of making decisions in its own self-interest. In other words Guyana should decide whether they would build a refinery or not – not the Americans, or the British or the Canadians. Mr. Burnham would never have allowed the US embassy to speak for him. This is the difference between a leader on the one hand, and those who are masquerading as leaders on the other. Mr. Burnham understood in a profound way that the motive of the colonial masters has never been in the interest of the colonized. The suggestions that Guyana should be happy to just sell its raw crude and use the proceeds for development is known as the Rentier State model. This approach has failed miserably in developing countries all over the world and is in part responsible for the natural resource curse. Collecting rents for your oil has never led to sustainable development in any country no matter how many sovereign wealth funds are created. What leads to development are the value added industries that come with the production and refining of oil.
Can anyone name a rentier country with oil and other natural resources that has escaped the curse? On the other hand the list of countries cursed by the discovery of oil is too numerous to mention. All with the best western experts money can buy. Why do we think Guyana would be different? Furthermore where is the US embassy or the Carter Center’s success story as it relates to oil in developing countries? Could these experts and advisors be really suggesting that Guyana sell its crude to Exxon and then turn around and import fuel to satisfy its energy needs? These are some of the questions the leaders of Guyana should be asking, but they must first liberate themselves from their colonized minds and stop believing that the so-called experts have all the answer. Be mindful Mr. President, we should not allow Guyana to be exploited and undermined by the tyranny of experts.
Yours faithfully,
Jocelyn Grant
