Two notable deaths and from the sublime to the ridiculous

Speaking to some friends and members of the Ex members of the Guyana National Service Association last Sunday, I thought for brevity I would ramble about bothersome matters from the sublime to the ridiculous in the form of a written staccato.

We’ve lost over the past few days, two heroes who may not make the headlines but contributed in their own way to the wholesomeness of our society. First, George Anthony Favorite who would have been 70 years on November 10, 2024 better known as Tony Dholl Puri. He established a credible business operating from Rasville, supplying many outlets with the best dholl puri and whenever VIPs and others came to Guyana, many of us recommended Tony’s Dholl Puri, the biggest and the best.

The other was Eric (Mutt) Moseley who passed away suddenly on Monday morning, March 18, 2024. Mutt was a regular contributor to the Letter Column in our daily newspapers and we will miss the incisiveness and knowledge of a country’s social and political history.

Driving around, I observed a new security establishment owned and established by a known friend of the Government, now getting the bulk of work. At one location I met a young female weighing no more than ninety pounds, no security training, but being paid no more than the national minimum wage. But this is Guyana.

Noting the billions we are surrendering daily to the mighty conglomerates harvesting our gold, diamonds, manganese, oil and gas, etc., but we have a political leadership in charge of things that is unwilling or unable to get much, much more for the people of Guyana. But this is Guyana.

Then with the US$214M which was being surrendered to an oil company. When this was discovered, the officer involved was given a slap on the wrist. There was no formal enquiry but from the imperial throne, the officer was fined half a month’s salary. Was this billion-dollar story one of carelessness or complicity? Who knows? But this is Guyana.

Earlier I appealed publicly and privately and sent letters to President Irfaan Ali, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton and

Khemraj Ramjattan, AFC suggesting to them if they sat around the proverbial round table and hammered out an agreed approach to those who are exploiting our natural resources, that speaking on behalf of the great majority, we can get much, much more at is the case at the moment. The only person to reply, expressing a willingness to sit and talk was Aubrey Norton. But this is Guyana.

Too much bluster. The 2024 Budget was proclaimed the biggest but not a single cent was set aside to acquire the personnel and accoutrement to monitor and check how much oil is being extracted daily, so the silly steps of stupidity we must rely on the figures given to us by these conglomerates. Conglomerates we welcome but as seen even in North America those who own the natural resources must know we are not dealing with angels but people who have traditionally acquired the skills and some may say tricks to give us enough to keep us at least for the time being in a state of stupor and silence where those who represent us seem more interested in defending those who harvest our resources as against what is good for our people. But this is Guyana.

In a country blessed with an abundance of non-renewable natural resources, we ignore the lessons of other countries that have done little to share the wealth. But this is Guyana.

We have a situation where our leaders do not understand that good sense suggests that you develop in a manner that allows you to utilise the natural resources where Guyanese have the competence, skills and experience to control how our God-given natural resources are used. But this is Guyana.

We hear from the Guyana Revenue Authority and other state agencies how because of staff haemorrhage, we are unable to check and double check information given to them by those with imperial pretentions, so instead of putting the brakes on those who come to harvest our resources, we run around the world bringing in more and more investors, when from all accounts we are getting the proverbial six for a nine. But this is Guyana.

It doesn’t dawn upon those in charge that the present spending spree is foolhardy when as you have seen everywhere, we lack the capacity to monitor the quality of work done on buildings, roads, canals etc. But this is Guyana.

It should be clear to the simplest of us that we need an educational system that is geared to produce people with the skills, competence and most of all attitudes to ensure that at all times we are in charge as independent people and not as seems to be the case our leaders spend time shouting and cursing all those who are neither sycophants nor blind to the reality to our highly competitive international environment.

But Dear Editor, if this is not enough, a close examination of the way promotions are taking place in the Guyana Police Force among others suggests that perhaps only a certain group are now invested with the divine right to rule and to control.

You have our leaders beating their chest at Babu Jaan and talking about ‘One Guyana,’ but even a non-compos mentis would notice who are the real decision-makers on the captain’s deck of the ship named One Guyana. But this is Guyana.

Dear Editor, we are at the crossroads and free thinkers irrespective of race, colour or creed must speak up so that we turn wrong into right, so that we change secrecy to transparency, so that we understand our own history where Massa couldn’t control things without the complicity of certain members of the very group being exploited. But this is Guyana.

Thank God, we have patriots and voices of reason unafraid to speak up. On Facebook, in editorials and articles and the independent media.

So that some day, from the Corentyne Coast to the North West, from the Coast to the Rupununi. From every creek and river, flowing majestically to the Atlantic, we will in unison bequeath to our children, a country rich and free, that they can shout thanks to our courage that this is Guyana.