Finally, consider the irony: investors like Alistair Routledge, fully aware of the corruption, racism, money laundering, and lawlessness in Guyana, arrive believing they can navigate these waters with clever detachment, sidestepping the chaos and ignoring the cries of the local people—only to have the consequences crash directly onto their doorstep.
In Guyana, corruption isn’t just a nuisance—it’s a way of life, a disease rotting the nation from its core. It infiltrates every institution, every system, every corner of governance. But what happens when this corruption transcends inconvenience and turns into something far more dangerous? What happens when it endangers not just ordinary citizens but also the foreign investors whose presence sustains the nation’s economy?
We saw the answer play out on Lamaha Street, Georgetown. A vehicle assigned to ExxonMobil Guyana’s President, Alistair Routledge, came under fire—a brazen act that could have resulted in tragedy. The shooter? A PPP connected businessman armed with a Glock and the audacity born of a system that no longer enforces accountability for the wealthy and connected. This was not an impulsive act of rage; it was a calculated response by someone who believed, with reason, that the rules simply don’t apply to him.
And where were the police? Silent. For two weeks, they kept the incident under wraps, only confirming it after media pressure made continued secrecy impossible. To be clear, this wasn a failure of law enforcement and a deliberate attempt to obscure the truth.
A Nation Empowered by Corruption; Foreigners Silent
Imagine living in a country where someone feels so untouchable that they can fire at a moving vehicle in public, certain they will face no serious consequences. Imagine the recklessness it takes to target a vehicle without confirming its ownership or the identity of its occupants. Now, imagine that this vehicle is assigned to ExxonMobil, the cornerstone of Guyana’s oil economy, and tied to the very leader responsible for managing one of the nation’s most critical partnerships. Finally, consider the irony: investors like Alistair Routledge, fully aware of the corruption, racism, money laundering, and lawlessness in Guyana, arrive believing they can navigate these waters with clever detachment, sidestepping the chaos and ignoring the cries of the local people—only to have the consequences crash directly onto their doorstep.
This isn’t just audacity; it is the inevitable outcome of a government and institutions steeped in corruption. When those in power embrace cronyism, tolerate incompetence, and prioritize loyalty over merit, they create a culture where impunity reigns supreme.
This culture of impunity emboldens individuals like the alleged shooter, Muishankar Persaud, to play judge, jury, and executioner. It enables the police to suppress critical information, betting on the public’s attention span to wither away. And it leaves an entire country teetering on the brink of chaos.
Foreign Investors Sitting Targets in a Broken System
The implications of this act are chilling. If a vehicle tied to ExxonMobil can be shot at without immediate consequences, what message does that send to other foreign investors? What confidence can companies have in a country where institutional decay puts their people, their operations, and their reputations at risk? What does that mean for the safety of citizens who run afoul of the Guyana government?
ExxonMobil isn’t just another business. Its presence in Guyana represents billions of dollars in investment and promises of transformative national development. Yet here we are, with the company’s leadership subjected to risks that no international corporation should tolerate.
And it doesn’t stop there. If police and government officials can’t guarantee safety in Georgetown’s streets, how can they be trusted with larger responsibilities?
This incident is not isolated—it’s the latest symptom of a deeper malaise. Corruption doesn’t just empty the coffers and misdirect resources; it creates an ecosystem where incompetence, negligence, and lawlessness thrive. The government’s failure to uphold transparency and enforce accountability puts everyone at risk, from ordinary citizens navigating crumbling roads to executives tasked with steering multinational investments.
But perhaps the most galling aspect of this incident is the silence. For two weeks, the police buried the story, hoping it would disappear into the shadows like so many scandals before it. How many other events of similar magnitude have been swept under the rug? How often are we left in the dark, unaware of the dangers lurking in plain sight?