Dear Editor,
Guyana has rolled out the red carpet and is welcoming dignitaries and visitors from all across the world to attend the 2022 International and Energy Conference. While it may be denied, it’s hard not to see that this Conference is receiving the active support, and possibly more, from the Irfaan Ali Government. While Editor, nothing is wrong with this, as a Guyanese taxpayer, I shudder to wonder how much this extravaganza is costing the Guyanese people. I wonder how many roads could have been fixed, or how many more vials of COVID-19 vaccines could have been bought, or what more could be given to our ordinary people who continue to suffer in the world’s newest Dubai.
Editor, the private sector has, from what I saw, taken a leading role in the Conference. Certainly, they have the most to gain from the confab. But, though the greatest beneficiaries, they have hardly put their monies where their mouths are, but as in times before, depended on the largesse of the State. A few days ago a friend of mine shared with me a copy of the Conference’s programme. Indeed, there is the Who’s Who will be participating, and their presentations will say a lot, yet say nothing new I believe. What I believe we will have, will be a game of horse trading, where our locals jockey to see what crumbs they can get from the tables of the oil barons. There is not even, from what I saw, a minute to address the serious concerns labour faces in the sector. Rather, what may well happen is a knowledge transfer of exploitation from foreign to local wanna-be’s who may bend over backward to aggrandize themselves and flaunt their so-called status.
Editor, we need to ask ourselves which version of the Dubai we want to be. Do we want to be the one where our people are well-off, able to put food on their tables and enjoy a comfortable life? Or do we want to be the one where exploitation is rampant, inequity is a hallmark, and poverty is for the masses? We need to ask ourselves these profound questions as we join the ranks of the oil-producing world.
Sincerely,
Liebert Alleyne
