Dear Editor,
As the last month of the year and therefore Christmas beckons, I make a short simple statement. First, with the vast amount of oil above the limit being extracted everyday, we have a Government making all sorts of childish excuses for not implementing a windfall tax on the oil companies and those extracting gold.
Mr. Paul from neighbouring Trinidad has put it succinctly that this is a sensible thing to do in the interest of the population – a tax imposed by several countries throughout the world. See Editorials and articles, this week in Kaieteur and Stabroek News. But yet we hear this foolishness, this unpatriotic nonsense about the sanctity of contracts.
Next, we still suffer from blackouts but if that is not enough, Dr. Clive Thomas has unearthed damning information about this Turkish ship company which our Government employed to supply additional generation. A scandal in the making. Is it as apparent a case of incompetence, corruption, sheer folly or a glamorous combination, all unworthy of a Government in charge of the fastest growing economy in the world.
I recommend as necessary reading for every Guyanese irrespective of race, colour, creed or political attachment, Editorials in the Stabroek News and Kaieteur News. We have the gas to shore monster and on Wednesday, with bold brass face, the Government seeks millions more to complete this gas to shore experiment at a time where International concern is being expressed about the potential danger of overheating our world by the indiscriminate use of fossil fuel and studies has shown that the use of solar panels (using the sun) can satisfy our needs at a lower cost and in a much safer way.
Beyond all of this we are on a sustained spending spree, all because a Government with massive funds, for some reason, seems unwilling or unable to do what was being implemented more than three decades ago to make education free from kindergarten to university. To provide quality health deva for every citizen every year and to put in place the implementation of a policy called Defence-in – Depth.
The Editorial dealing with Education in Stabroek news, dealt adequately with what in summary, suggests that we are producing in our schools young people whose only concern is to pass many subjects while losing the opportunity to mix, meddle and learn to love one another through a sporting, cultural and allied activity. Why are we losing a golden opportunity to make Guyana good, to keep the environment safe and sound is beyond belief.
Handouts will be welcomed but are not an alternative to well thought out programmes of education and providing opportunities, first, to our people before opening the floodgates for non-nationals.
This weekend letter is deliberately short and simple but there are so many other issues that will be dealt with in detail later, but for now, read the independent media and share it with your friends, in the communities, your religious organisations and those you chat with. For the time may soon come to remind ourselves of what a Leader evvel said, that ‘enough is enough.’
Yours truly,
Hamilton Green
Elder