Dear Editor,
I must admit I’m quite happy to see Guyana attracting so much attention/visitors after discovering her newfound wealth. Never before had so much attention/interest been shown, noticeably, most of the countries are far more developed. Most of them either have a business interest or seek advice on how to invest/spend their own money to benefit in some way. I am not against that, however, I’m peeved that these people would come for a few days interface with the leaders, businessmen, selected people, etc, take on tours to chosen places, then say Guyana has lots of tourism potential, resources, and how to spend/invest money earn and they will help by advising, etc.
Many would conveniently forget that Guyana always has more resources than their country, mainly Gold, Diamond, Timber, Sugar, Rice, Bauxite, etc. History will prove that racism and corruption have kept Guyana back, and foreign companies accumulate immense wealth from Guyana whilst the people of this country continue to live in poverty. It’s no secret that the visitors would be prevented from seeing the other part of Guyana, and if these ‘advisors’ really have an interest in Guyana’s welfare, they should have spent more time, interact with more, and then given advice based on their personal experience. Indeed many of these countries have never shown much interest in Guyana before, and no doubt, given the way Guyana is governed, they see potential in the interest of their country. Guyanese were not treated properly in many of these countries, never not once have I heard an apology, but today, they have Guyanese interest at heart. It’s outrageous to come and advise what should be done, without having a proper understanding of the way of life for Guyanese. Ironically, Guyana is racially/politically divided, and corrupted, but none deliberated on that, but gave their glorious advice. Editor, given the current situation in Guyana, visitors will assume all is well here, because of the rapid construction works on our roadways, but the truth is to be told. All these works that are being done, is very commendable. But these works are not being done for the benefit of all Guyanese. One doesn’t have to look far, our neighbour, Venezuela, is a living example. Because of oil money, Venezuela embarked on massive infrastructural works around their country, making it one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Today, their people run to any country that accepts them, leaving the infrastructure. Is that proper thinking?
Finally, Editor, everyone was very excited when the government decided to give out money, but during the process, numerous accusations of corruption and favouritism surfaced. The government has a strategy to keep Guyanese quiet should they decide to publicly exercise their minds. Come up with an excuse to share out money and everyone sits down quietly and collects the small change, whilst they take a bigger share. They ensure they purchase the best to give them a comfortable lifestyle, under the guise of using state money. Traveling around the country, making friends/followers, and spending/ wasting huge amounts for nothing meaningful. Look in the newspapers, or on social media, constantly you see sick people pleading/begging for assistance to get corrective surgery so that they could live a better life. With all the wealth in Guyana, a system should have already been in place where the government could foot the bill without question. But instead, they choose to waste the money elsewhere and allow the poor citizens of this country to punish and eventually dead. Such is the caring government we have. Throughout the country we have hospitals, but for any serious medical issues, the patient would have to be rushed down to Georgetown. With our never-ending traffic crisis, this government doesn’t see the need to get medical helicopters to assist. They cannot find the means to see all hospitals be equally equipped to handle any situation. Instead, they allow their friends to build state-of-the-art hospitals, where you will have to pay for their service. So, will the majority of Guyanese actually benefit from this oil boom? My honest answer is no, but given their history in Government, they and their friends will.
Sincerely,
Sahadeo Bates
