Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 26, 2016 Features / Columnists, Letters
Dear Editor;
Editor’ note: This is the conclusion of Mr. Nandlal’s letter carried in our Sunday edition.
Only two weeks ago, Barama laid-off a hundred and eighty (180) employees. One of the reasons proffered by the company is the failure of the Gov’t to renew its licenses on time.
Only sixty percent of the farmers who planted rice the last crop, have gone back to the fields for this crop. Most of the two thousand workers dislocated by the closure of Wales Estate have already joined the unemployment queue.
A contracting economy, a progressive reduction in commercial activities, a dormant construction industry, declining gold mining activities in the small and medium scale arena, along with the closure of Bai Shan Lin in the forestry sector; all cumulatively, lead to daily growth in the unemployment statistics.
This dilemma is aggravated by the APNU/AFC’s discernable intolerance for consultations, of criticisms or of a view different from theirs. In this regard, the private sector has been the victim of callous public onslaughts whenever it adopts a position different from or critical of the Govt.
I recall the public beating that the private sector took from the APNU/AFC, in opposition, during the tenth Parliament. All that the private sector did was to call upon the then Opposition not to cut funding of important national projects from the Budgets and to support the passage of important Bills, for example, the AML/CFT Bills.
The public assault on the private sector has continued by the APNU/AFC in Govt. Only last week, the nation witnessed the contemptuous, derisive and uncouth verbal tirade of the Attorney General, Mr. Basil Williams, upon the private sector, simply because, that important stake-holder requested a review of the draconian SARA Bill. One leading player in the private sector was moved to remark to me that in twenty-four years of the PPP/C in Govt, no one has ever spoken to and or about the Private Sector Commission in such a manner.
Indeed, the record will show that prior to October, 1992, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, a devout Marxist, extended a hand of partnership to the private sector, earmarking it to be the “engine of growth” of the economy under a PPP/C Govt. And so it has been since then.
The PPP/C Administration took relations with the private sector to an all-time high when it entered into the novel private/public partnerships with the private sector in relation projects such as the Berbice River Bridge and the Marriot Hotel.
In fact, the constant criticism has been that the PPP/C Govt had become too close to the private sector. It is obvious that in relation to this Govt, the complete opposite obtains today to the detriment of the Govt, the private sector and the nation as a whole.
I wonder what uncle Yesu has to say about all of this. After all, TOPCO is his brain-child and, he publicly endorsed the coalition during the 2015 elections campaign. Maybe the recent tax write-off from which DDL benefitted was the repayment of that debt. I guess other political debts have to be repaid, as well.
After all, two leading lights in the coalition have publicly stated that those who made contributions to the coalition during the elections campaign made political investments for which they must be rewarded. We are now seeing the rewards.
Anil Nandlall
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
Mar 29, 2024
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