Role of media in development

May 03, 2022

World Press Freedom Day

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, Heads of Mission for the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union underscored inter alia, the role of the media as the country’s moves on a trajectory of rapid development.

In a joint statement the diplomats noted members of the media are a key source of information on national topics such as Guyana’s rapid development while at the same time holding government, opposition, parliamentarians and others accountable:

“Press attention to accountability has never been more important in Guyana with a historically large revenue stream entering government coffers and a regularly stated intent to use those resources for a development agenda that cuts across all regions and races.”

 “There is also a larger principle at stake that strong democracies require free information flow in the public marketplace of opinions and ideas. As inconvenient as criticism can be to government officials and other leaders, it is an essential part of the democratic cacophony.” This view has long been held by Publisher, Glenn Lall. an outspoken businessman, who underscored the importance of the media in holding government accountable in the management of resources.

Media as ‘watchdogs of society’, have a role of highlighting issues of governance and corruption. As media workers around the globe mark press freedom day, he urges a different concept for reporting the news.

He stressed that given their role in development, journalists and reporters should pivot from emphasis on the routine run-of-the mill stories.

“Guyana is not the Guyana of yesterday. This country has overnight transformed into a shining star of the world with its enormous oil resources. I hope that journalists can pursue and develop in-depth knowledge to facilitate, speak on and write authoritatively about the country’s vast resources. New items should be prioritised in a way that reflects what Guyana is today and where it is headed. Journalists must understand the great role they play in their daily contribution to the public.”

The statement by Heads of Mission of the Embassy of the United States of America, Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch; the British High Commissioner, Jane Miller; the Canadian High Commissioner, Mark Berman, and the Delegation of the European Union, Ambassador Dr. Fernando Ponz Cantó acknowledged the significant work of journalists.

“The media plays an essential role in our societies, defending and advancing the truth and amplifying the voices of the public by sharing stories authentically.
“We recognise that media freedom is a cornerstone of democratic societies and essential to the protection of human rights, fundamental freedoms and universal values anchored in the Universal Declaration for Human Rights.”

 “Journalists have been at the forefront in times of danger in Guyana, including during incidents such as fires and flooding and they tell the heartbreaking stories of women and families who have been victims of domestic violence.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the media has helped to keep societies updated about developments .., to learn of best practices to prevent the spread of the virus and importantly to counter false or misleading information.”

With matters of life and the quality of life in the balance, the envoys advised that journalists must be allowed to report facts freely without attacks and acts of intimidation or censorship at a time where the capacity to speak truth is constantly under attack around the world.

“Media freedom also requires freedom from all forms of undue influence or pressure, be it political, economic or financial, so that they can report independently and objectively.”

Abuse and harassment of journalists while doing their jobs must also not be tolerated. Female journalists and minorities are often victims of inappropriate comments and sexual harassment and that must end. In keeping with this year’s World Press Freedom Day theme, journalists are increasingly using a digital space, Bold action is needed from governments to acknowledge and address the evolving media environment.

“As the media continues to transform locally, the presence and voice of the Guyana Press Association is even more important, and we are also pleased to note Guyana’s membership in the Media Freedom Coalition.  Together, we must engage constructively to find practical solutions to protect the voices of journalists in both the traditional and digital space.”

 

 

Cost of oil bonanza

Over time, the environmentalist Arnette Arjoon grew to suspect Exxon was indifferent to the dangers of an oil spill to the coast and rivers of one of the best preserved parts of the Amazon biome.

 Fidal Bassier/Guardian/Reuters

Multibillion-dollar deal promising to lift country out of poverty may be false dawn with dire impact on climate, warn campaigners

Chris McGreal
12 May 2022

Annette Arjoon is not anti-oil. The marine conservationist calls the vast new oilfields off Guyana’s coast a “blessing” that will earn billions of dollars for one of the poorest countries in the region, even as she recognises that pulling yet more fossil fuel from the ground will deepen the climate crisis.

Arjoon does have a problem with who is drilling the oil. She has seen firsthand what happens when the US’s largest petroleum company descends on a small country bearing the promise of riches.

As drilling a vast oilfield offshore began two years ago, the government called in Arjoon to monitor the environmental impact of the company’s biggest source of petroleum by 2025, outpacing even its wells sprawled across Texas.   Arjoon, who leads the Guyana Marine Conservation Society was not impressed. In time she grew to believe that Exxon was indifferent to the dangers of an oil spill to the coast and rivers of one of the best preserved parts of the Amazon biome, and of misleading her about its preparations to deal with such a disaster. She found the company’s behaviour   “thuggish and disrespectful”.

“I can only judge Exxon by my direct and deeply personal relationship with them so far. They are not an honourable company,” Arjoon says.

Suspicion about the oil firm does not stop with environmentalists. Guyanese politicians accused Exxon of fleecing the country of billions of dollars by bouncing an ill-experienced government into a contract that pays far less than other countries earn from their oil.

Then there is the pressing question of the future of the planet. With Guyana increasingly threatened by rising sea levels, Arjoon is conscious of the impact of Exxon opening a huge oilfield at a time when governments are being warned there can be no new oil or gas fields or coalmines if the world is to reach net zero by 2050.

Some fishers say vibrations from oil exploration are driving away the fish and shrimp. Liza-1 project, in the prolific Greater Liza area, was the first stage to begin production, with Liza-2 coming on line this year. The Greater Turbot discovery was announced in 2017, but is still not yet in production.

Both areas are identified in research to be published this month into the world’s biggest so-called carbon bombs – gigantic fossil fuel projects that would each result in at least 1bn tonnes of CO2 emissions over their lifetimes. Together they would contribute more than 2.1bn tonnes of CO2 emissions over the course of the project, according to the study, which identifies 195 similar oil and gas mega developments around the world. The Center for International Environmental Law has also warned Exxon’s drilling and gas flaring “may turn Guyana from carbon sink to carbon bomb”.

Yet for all that, Arjoon is glad to see the oil flowing because Guyana does not have any other way forward. “As an environmentalist with 35 years of experience in coastal communities through the length and breadth of Guyana, I see extreme poverty. Oil gives us a way out of that.”

This drilling bonanza promises to earn Guyana roughly $150bn over the life of the oilfields, estimated at 30 years. For good or ill, that represents a huge change in fortune for a country of 800,000 people, where more than 40% live below the poverty line of $5.50 (£4.20) a day.

“All of those that have exploited their oil resources to develop their countries should not be telling Guyana ‘leave your oil in the ground’.”

“Norway is always used as the best example of a nation that utilises oil, and it is said that they have the best model for natural resources. So why should Guyana be any different? Who is to say that little Guyana, which has been blessed with so much abundant resources including oil, should not take advantage?”

Others agree. There is a bittersweet sense that Guyana needs to hurry and get the oil out of the ground or miss the fossil fuel party.

After years of failed attempts, Exxon made one of the biggest offshore crude discoveries of recent times when it struck oil offshore Guyana in 2015. Four years later, the then president, David Granger, proclaimed a public holiday, National Petroleum Day, to celebrate the first oil flowing from its wells.

“Guyana’s future is brighter with the beginning of first oil. The good life for everyone beckons.”

The government promised a sovereign wealth fund, similar to Norway’s, to transform the country with investments in roads, education and hospitals. Fossil fuel money is also earmarked to develop renewable energy sources such as solar and hydroelectric for when the oil runs out, an irony not lost on Arjoon and others. There has been talk of a $5,000 cash handout to every citizen, a small fortune.

Yet hopes pinned on oil are tempered by divisive politics, shaped by tensions between the descendants of enslaved Africans and Indian indentured farmers and concerns about official corruption.

For some Guyanese, their first encounters with Exxon left them sceptical of the promises. A short drive east of the capital, Georgetown, George Jagmohan used to run seven fishing boats. He might be less angry about selling them off one by one since the oil drilling began if he believed in the declarations of a golden dawn for Guyana.

“Since the drilling started, the fish have gone. It’s the blasting and vibrations. In another couple of years it will be finished. It never used to happen. People aren’t stupid. I’ve been fishing for 40 years and it’s not been like this before.”

A few miles further up the coast, Steve Outar says his catches are down by about 80% but he has not laid up any of his four boats because he feels a responsibility to the crews.

“The fish production in neighbouring Suriname and Venezuela is still 100%, so why is it falling here? Because the vibrations are driving the fish and shrimp away. Some of my boats spend 18 days at sea but still don’t catch enough fish,” he says as he cleans red snapper for processing as dried fish for shipment to China.

“Each boat has a captain and six men. That’s 28 crew, and each of the crew has a family to support. If they don’t catch, they get nothing. If we’re out of business, they are out of bread.”

Arjoon says overfishing and other factors have played a part in the decline, but she agrees that “the massive seismics that were done in the early stages did have an impact on marine life, especially marine mammals. That was when you had an unprecedented amount of strandings of sperm whales.”

She says that when she tried to talk to Exxon about the timings of seismic explosions, to see if they coincided with the stranding of whales, she was fobbed off. Like others, Arjoon fears not enough has been done in case of a spill that could devastate this coast.

“Exxon’s modelling showed an unmitigated spill could impact the north-western part of the Shell beach protected area all the way to the Orinoco delta. What lies in between is a very special place, especially because that is where the largest national repository of blue carbon exists, at a time when our low-carbon development strategy has been expanded.”

The government says there is no evidence Exxon is responsible for reduced catches, overall fish production rose by over 10% from 2020, and exports for the fisheries sector surpassed GUY$ 4bn. Exxon said its “first priority for every project is to put in place mitigations and processes that help to prevent adverse events by utilising the best technologies, equipment and people in our operations”.

“The Bank of Guyana summarises landing quantities in their annual reports on Guyana’s sector economies; according to the data provided in those reports, fluctuations in the quantity of finfish and shrimp landings have been observed for many years. Oil and gas activities have not been included as potential factors. We work diligently to avoid any spills. But should one occur, we are prepared to mitigate and resolve it as quickly and comprehensively as possible.”

Outar dismisses officials’ claims, saying that is not the experience of local fishers. He does not have much faith that the promises made for oil will make up for the decline in fishing. “Oil isn’t going to help. It can make the country rich but the people won’t be better off. We’ve still got to live day to day. We can’t eat a new road.”

Jagmohan is blunter. “ It will all end up in the politicians’ pockets. They’ll be sitting there drinking champagne and whisky. They told us oil will make us rich. We’ve got gold, diamonds, sugar… We should be rich from that but we’re not. So why will oil be different?”

Those concerns are widely shared. Transparency International Guyana warned that oil can end up as more of a curse than a blessing. citing the Niger delta, where millions of people live with flaring and spills but see few benefits. Equatorial Guinea enjoyed an oil bonanza that in less than a decade transformed it from one of the world’s poorest countries to the highest per capita income in Africa by 2008. Equatorial Guinea’s oil wealth was “squandered and stolen” by the government, resulting in declines in healthcare and access to education.

The former head of Guyana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), says that should serve as a warning as payments to its oil fund soar to nearly $1bn this year, permitting the government to increase its budget by 44%.

“It’s not about the oil, it’s about how you govern the country and how you govern the management of the oil industry. Oil is not going to be around for more than maybe 30 years. So the governance part of it is to make sure that we invest now so there will be a sustainable economy after oil is gone to attract foreign direct investment, to lay the groundwork in education, infrastructure, national security, health, agriculture. We are definitely not prepared for it. The biggest frustration is that the government just does not understand what it takes to be prepared, and what it takes to govern under these circumstances to make the country a better country.”

Confidence is undercut by the belief that Exxon bounced a government lacking in expertise and desperate for money into a contract that serves the country badly, with the global rights group Global Witness estimating that Guyana will earn about $50bn less than it would have done under a more common type of agreement. Grave concern about the contract signed by the government remains among experts who warned the government against the contract but it was afraid Exxon would walk away.

The deal allows Exxon to deduct up to 75% of the earnings from its wells as costs before the balance is split between the government and the company. It recently presented Guyana with a bill of over $9bn for costs, which the government admits it lacks the resources to audit.

According to Exxon, “the terms of the contracts are competitive with other agreements signed in countries at a similar resource-development phase. Guyana’s resources have been brought on line at a record pace for the industry, resulting in significant financial benefits for the government and its industry partners.”

The project is steaming ahead. Vice-president, Bharrat Jagdeo, played a leading role in developing a low-carbon strategy and protecting the rainforest but is pushing for as much oil as fast as possible, telling a recent conference: “Because there is this climate change imperative to decarbonise, our policy is to get as much oil out of the ground as quickly as possible. It sounds a bit harsh for those who think you should be environmentally sound, but that is the reality of it.”

Arjoon will be watching closely. She calls the gap between Exxon’s claims to prioritise environmental protection and the reality a “disgraceful deficit. I am not unaware that Exxon is here to ensure the best returns to their shareholders. Exxon is not here because they care about Guyana. But that does not mean they can treat us as an uneducated nation. We don’t drink the Kool-Aid so easily.”

The government must follow the money to turn Guyana into a profit centre after decades of abysmal governance impoversihed the country which can supply the world with cheap energy for decades.

 

 

Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana strengthen trade

Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana signed A memorandum of understanding (MOU) on renewed and enhanced co-operation, after a three-day Agri-Investment Forum in Guyana on May 19 – 21.

The agreement seeks to address partnerships in trade and investment including non-tariff barriers, agriculture and food security, energy, infrastructure, security, education, tourism,  sports and culture; with the aim of developing strategic co-operations and partnerships.

Oversight of the execution of the MOU would be under a newly established bilateral commission which comprised of both the private and public sectors.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and their foreign ministers signed the MOU before a media briefing.

Rowley said the agreement showed that Caricom could seek and find solutions to its many problems, especially in agriculture which was vulnerable during the pandemic.

“In this covid19 period we found ourselves being denied access to our normal food supplies from Australia, New Zealand, Ukraine, Russia and the US. Our supply models are that we get our food from faraway lands. “During the height of the covid19 period at the extent of our vulnerability, where even when we had money in hand, we could not buy food. That situation is not going to change, it is going to get worse. Now is the time to do what has to be done.”

Rowley expects the private sector to refocus investments in food supply, production, transportation, processing and distribution. Caricom urgently needed to make shifts in its investment patterns, partner with technical expertise and become insulated from external pressures.

“We have to look at what Caricom can and must do within Caricom to disentangle ourselves from the tenuous world food supply, that will get more troublesome and put our shoulder to the wheel within Caricom to our own production systems, changing our supply and business models to put ourselves in supply situations that will not be impeded, destroyed or obstructed by other people elsewhere in the world.”

Ali, who also holds the responsibility for agriculture in the Caricom Quasi- Cabinet agreed that an important aspect of the MOU was private sector involvement and the discussions with TT will be positive.

“We want the private sector of both countries to be fully on board, we want the investors of both countries to be fully on board, but importantly we want the people of both countries to be on board.”

Guyana, well aware of challenges ahead, was determined not to miss opportunities for its growth and development.

Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry publicly stated that Guyana should not sign any MOU with TT citing issues of non-tariff barriers.

Ali said Guyana saw the MOU as a commitment to secure the futures of both countries. From a political level it will ensure policies and contents were achieved within a reasonable time frame.

“It gave us an opportunity to not only examine a sector, but it gave us an opportunity to take the bull by the horn and to identify, in a very open and frank way, missed opportunities to help identify opportunities in the future and blocks to those opportunities.

“We are not naive. We are not unaware of impediments or blocks or constraints or challenges. At the end of the day, we are not only neighbours, we are not only part of a community, we are also part of a family.”

Transportation between the two countries was critical and an experimental ferry system to transport people and goods was being explored by both governments.

The Least of the Ministries, Agriculture always on a paltry Cinderella budget from PNM preclusion, survivies on the sweat of forsaken farmers, descendants of ethnic Indians.

Abandoned by apostate authorities, thwarted by privations, praedial larceny, abysmal infrastructure and ministerial disdain, they stoically feed hungry citizens. In this Centennial of iconic ICTA, founding college of UWI Trinidad, the PM inspected a Guyana guard of honour as his perfidious party presided over a food blockade by bankrupting agriculture so families survive on Indian vegetarian staples. There is no need for yet another hypocritical HOG forum when UWI has comprehensive research but agriculture graduates cannot find jobs. Government can divest shares in unethical companies.. Lucrative WITCO produces tobacco, a health risk consuming gas and pollutiing the air. Also profitable, Angostura, a health risk and cause of accidents, fuels crime and abuse, as incomes are squandered in bars.

 

NGC chairman Enill is new High Commissioner to Guyana

May 12, 2022

The Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs in Trinidad confirmed  Conrad Enill as High Commissioner to Guyana. Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne presented the Chairman of the National Gas Company (NGC) with his instrument of appointment and thanked Enill for willingness to serve Trinidad and Tobago.

The new high commissioner will be guided by Government’s policy framework, which emphasises that the ministry and its diplomatic network of overseas missions are the frontline of projecting the interests of TT. Enill gained experience as an energy minister (2007-2010); minister in the Ministry of Finance (2001-2006); and a senior lecturer at the UWI Arthur Lok Jack Global Graduate School of Business.

As a full-time envoy in a meteoric Guyana, he will presumably leave the National Gas Company, where a new chairman can drive divestment to chart a sustainable energy future.

 

Bolsonaro boosts business

May 7th 2022 –

Guyana is among the fastest-growing economies in the world and Brazil is joining the process.   Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his Guyana counterpart President Irfaan Ali signed cooperation agreements on mutual legal assistance in civil and criminal matters in Georgetown. The leaders discussed trade, investment, infrastructure, energy, defense, security, and regional and global issues.

Brazilian businessmen are interested in investing in the neighbour and a bilateral virtual seminar involving the business communities of both countries will be coordinated by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), focusing on new opportunities in the oil and gas sector. Bilateral exchange between Brazil and Guyana has more than doubled in the last two years, from approximately US$ 58 million in 2020 to US$ 118.6 million in 2021. President Irfaan Ali said

“We had the opportunity to further elaborate on and concretize an action plan, moving forward in four areas. We have agreed on an actionable framework..”

On infrastructure, there were plans for the establishment of a deep-water port, the road link between Linden and Lethem, which would connect Guyana to Brazil, fiber-optic connectivity and a duty-Free Zone. Both countries plan to cooperate on a natural gas strategy which includes Suriname, to create an energy corridor. The countries will team up to share power, based on a collective understanding of their needs and ability to supply. President Ali discussed this and other topics with President Bolsonaro and President Chandrikapersad Santokhi in January in Suriname.

A team is expected to work out an aggressive plan on the expansion of markets, the removal of barriers, how to deploy new technology, the process flow, institutional arrangements, the creation of a hub for processing and transshipment of agri-produce and products also to CARICOM. Returns from the sector are expected to catapult Guyana to the ranks of wealthiest countries in the Western Hemisphere, thereby increasing the government’s fiscal space to invest in initiatives geared at expanding the economy, and improving the overall welfare of citizens.

Guyana and Brazil established diplomatic relations on August 26, 1968 and have since been cooperating in trade, health, agriculture, transport, and security matters.

 

Economic growth attracts Chinese..

May 8, 2022

…companies already bidding on gas-to-shore project          -By Amar Persaud

PRC Ambassador to Guyana, Guo Haiyan said, as Guyana continues on the track for unprecedented economic growth, it continues to attract the attention of global players including investors from China, who are eyeing major developments such as the Gas-to-Shore project. She noted that Guyana has great demand and great potential, drawing Chinese investors and companies.

“The interests include energy and infrastructure. For example, the SOC China National Offshore Oil Company – a partner of ExxonMobil  [with a 25 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana]  will make additional investments.

“And some Chinese companies have participated in the bidding for the gas-to-energy project and some are interested in infrastructure projects… The investment cooperation is contacted through the market and the companies will keep their negotiations confidential at the early stage so I don’t have all the information.”

Last month, Vice President Bharrat Bharrat disclosed that nine companies have been pre-qualified for the construction of the natural gas-fired power plant and the natural gas liquids (NGL) plant components of the gas-to-shore project.

“A public process has been gone through. They have now pre-qualified nine companies to bid for the NGL facility and the gas power plant. We are working now, since the two have been combined because we believe that the synergy will save us, and therefore, it required a bit more work at preparing the Request for Proposal. We’re hoping by the end of May that Request for Proposal will go out to the nine pre-qualified companies.”

The multimillion-dollar project will pipe offshore gas produced to an onshore facility at Wales, West Coast Demerara, where it will be processed at the NGL plant for local use and export. The gas will be used at the power plant to generate cheaper and more reliable electricity to the national grid.

U S oil giant, ExxonMobil indicated that it would inject some US$1.3 billion into the project and has already submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval.

Ambassador Guo advised that Chinese investors expressed interest in Guyana’s vast agricultural sector. Agri-relations between Guyana and China started many years ago and now Chinese investors want to tap into the rapidly-growing sector.

“The conditions for agriculture development here in Guyana is quite good. I believe there is great potential for our cooperation in agriculture.”

Investors are looking to pursue a seafood processing project which will add value to the output of the fishing industry.

“ China imports some seafood – some frozen or dried seafoods – from Guyana, and as I know, it’s also encouraged by the Guyanese Government to do processing to develop some value-added industry here. So some private Chinese companies are interested in seafood processing to develop the value-added.”

The Chinese Government is pursuing training programmes for capacity building in a number of areas including agriculture. In addition to training for medical doctors, there are also initiatives to promote and foster cage fishing. Ambassador Guo stated that they have commenced a short course for mushroom growing, and bamboo and rattan weaving.

“The idea comes from our cooperation with the Ministry of Local Government [and Regional Development] because they want to help farmers in the hinterland to earn a living. So, we have two projects: one is mushroom growing and the other is bamboo and rattan weaving. For the mushroom, we have already organised a short course because there are already successful cases in over 100 countries by growing [mushrooms]. It’s a new technology to grow some kinds of mushrooms and some kinds of grass to help them earn some money.”

There still a lot of work to do in familiarising the local people with types of mushrooms and adding it to their diets.

Compliance with laws :  As more companies eye opportunities in Guyana, the diplomat stressed that the embassy does not directly facilitate potential investors. They merely guide and introduce them to relevant stakeholders, officials or agencies in Georgetown. While they encourage Chinese investors and companies to come here, they also highlight the necessary local laws and regulations that they would need to comply with to both fulfil their responsibility and to legitimatise their rights in Guyana.

“From time to time, there are Chinese companies that will come to the embassy or consult for more information. We will introduce them to relevant institutions here, for example, GO-Invest and the PSC (Private Sector Commission).”

With Guyana and China embarking on 50 years of diplomatic ties this year, Ambassador Guo said that the two countries greatly complement each other’s economies in terms of providing opportunities.

“Actually, I believe China and Guyana are opportunists for each other because the two economies are highly complementary. China is the second-largest economy in the world, with a vast market and advance practical technology. The Chinese Government encourage Chinese companies to seek collaboration opportunities with Guyana.”

[    Since this report, the world has changed forever. PRC did not condemn the RF invasion of Ukraine and benefits from energy deals for backing RF under sanctions from the free world.  PRC company Huawei was banned from Britain’s 5G network.  Britain withdrew the licence for CGTN to broadcast in the UK, Oxford University no longer accepts Huawei donations and sponsorships to fund research . Guyana and Caricom should beware of the existential risk to infrastructure and energy projects from PRC.   Caveat emptor.    ]

 

 

Diaspora in Canada

8 May 2022,

May 24th – 26th  marks the 58th anniversary of riots in 1964 culminating in the Wismar massacre of British Indians by 18000 descendants of African slaves  in colonial Guyana.

3000 ethnic Indians were murdered, injured and raped, their companies and properties looted and burned.

Thousands fled to Canada to escape racist persecution by People’s National Congress led by dictator Forbes Burnham who maintained his power grip until his death in 1985, altered the constitution at will, controlled media and unleashed systemic discrimination against Indians through state violence.

Now Canada and Guyana enjoy a close relationship built on people-to-people ties, trading connections, a development program and security partnership. The first High Commission of Canada opened in Georgetown, in March 1964. Over 85,000 Canadian-Guyanese citizens call Canada home and play an integral part of society. Hundreds of students from Guyana study in Canada every year. Canada supports capacity building with Canadian experts assisting institutions in Guyana and invests in the energy sector.

President Irfaan Ali urged the vibrant Guyana Diaspora to take advantage of growing economic opportunities in their former homeland, as Governance Minister Gail Teixeira said the Guyanese at home alone could not develop Guyana. The Diaspora is a powerful tool but the Diaspora have to be proactive. The opportunities are enormous. At the Guyana Festival Committee event to mark the 56th Independence Anniversary Dr Ali told diaspora to spend time in Guyana, conduct research, feasibility studies and “get involved.”

Among the plans he highlighted was the establishment of a US$100 million oil and gas training centre that would replace the Guyana Sugar Corporation Port Mourant Training Centre, educating primary and secondary school students in elementary coding and software development, free university education, involvement in robotics and making Guyana food secure. The government, with support of the International Organisation of Migration, established a Diaspora Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Minister of Governance Gail Teixeira encouraged the Diaspora to participate in the “golden era of Guyana” after years of racist politics, rigged elections and natural disasters. “We have the chance, as a people, to get it right but it cannot be done by the people at home alone. It has to be done by the PPP … by the nation, by the people in the country and in the Diaspora and the support of other nations.”

Patrons of crisis-plagued Guyana wish Guyana well, aware of the troubled history due to the politics of envy and racist murders of British Indians before Independence. Debt-ridden while blessed with mineral and agricultural resources, Guyana can now create prosperity and spread wealth across the region.

 

Ethnic Indian Arrival in the New World

May 8, 2022

In the wake of Christopher Columbus, arrival of British Indians in Guyana on 5 May 1838 marked a new economic era of the British Empire. They remain the ethnic majority at 40 percent of the population of over 793, 735, down from 51 % in 1980, due to migration sand contribute to development at all lvels in all fields.

In November 1916, the British Guiana East Indian Association (BGEIA) was established in New Amsterdam. Joseph Ruhomon moved that the Society be called “The British Guiana East Indian Association.”

This was unanimously carried. Joseph Alexander Luckhoo, (who as Financial Representative for the South East Essequibo became the first Indian Guyanese to win a seat in the colonial legislature in October 1916), after pronouncing in favour of the idea of the Association, called on Ruhomon, civil servant, journalist and Indian rights activist, to outline the aims and objects of the society.

Those included, inter alia, protecting the general “interests of East Indians and to obtain redress for them in established cases of grievances”; establishing a scheme for “settling time expired East Indian immigrants on the land under conditions that would ensure to the settlers the best possible results”; amend the colony’s constitution so that Indians could “write their own languages and with the necessary qualifications, may be enabled to exercise the franchise”; advocate and promote “by all possible and legitimate means, the intellectual, moral, social, economical, political and general public interests and welfare of the East Indian Community at large”; and to “promote among East Indians fellowship and social converse and interchange of thoughts and ideas by means of public sports, entertainments, lectures and conventions”.