Guyanese have to ensure oil sector managed in a manner that safeguards their interest as its first priority
Dear Editor,
The Guyana Public Service Union joins with the rest of the nation in marking the historic milestone and remarkable achievement of first oil. The fact that Guyana is now officially a petroleum producing nation and even more so, looks set to be included in the top twenty petroleum producing nations globally means that this achievement is as significant as it is historic.
During the coming months and years, Guyana’s revenue projection together with the opportunities offered by this new emerging sector have the potential to positively transform the lives of all Guyanese by leaps and bounds.
were scored abroad, where his average per innings was 46.41 In a first class career which extended from 1955 to 1971, Butcher averaged 49.90 per innings whilst scoring 11,628 runs, with 31 hundreds, in 169 matches. Career highlights include a fine century at Lord’s, 133 out of a total of 229, salvaging a draw in the process, and an unbeaten double century at Nottingham when he took the West Indies to an unexpected victory. In Auckland, New Zealand, in February, 1969, whilst Nurse plundered a swashbuckling innings of 168, as the West Indies successfully completed the then second highest run chase in the Test history of 345 runs in five and a quarter hours, Butcher’s unbeaten innings of 78, is often overlooked in the five-wicket victory. His final Test innings of 91 at Headingley in 1969 had set the stage for a West Indian victory, only for a late order collapse to see the win escape their grasp. Butcher, who had moved to the bauxite town of Mackenzie in the 1960s, remained active in the game after his retirement from first class cricket. He captained the Mackenzie Sports Club team for many a year whilst coaching and overseeing the
The Guyana Public Service Union therefore calls on all sober minded Guyanese to take a united stance in support of the country’s development, in an effort to ensure that this new reality provides equal opportunity for all Guyanese and, results in the improvement of the Guyanese stan
development of young cricketers in the mining town. Later on, he served as a West Indian selector. The community-minded Butcher, who taught for several years in early life, was also actively involved in the planning of the initial Mashramani celebrations, a spinoff of the Independence celebrations held in the Upper Demerara community. A regular attendee at Test matches in Georgetown in later life, the affable and always approachable Butcher in his trademark dashiki or shirt jac, was quite willing to discuss cricket or offer advice to anyone who sought him out, at any time. Basil Fitzherbert Butcher will be surely missed. We have lost a true son of the soil.
dard of living, quality of healthcare, adequate investment in quality education aimed at capacity building, Hinterland development aimed at enhancing national integration, Modernisation of our state’s institutions, etc.
Ultimately, as Guyanese we have both a collective and individual obligation to ensure that the petroleum sector is operated and managed in a manner that safeguards our interest as its first priority. This would entail environmental protection, Guyanese labour as a first choice, improvements in our socioeconomic status and, sustainable economic growth of Guyana’s economy to name a few.
No Guyanese must be left behind!
Yours faithfully,
Indira Thakurdin Guyana Public Service Union