Could there be more to the Harbour Bridge accidents that meet the eye 

Oct 24, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

I am thinking far and hard, which leads to worrying places in Guyana.  It concerns the Harbor Bridge.  There were those two accidents, a GY$1B bill (and counting), some public principals plus those unnamed, unknown, and behind the scenes, and so many more dots to connect.  I don’t like where they lead. No Sir! No Madam!

The two vessel accidents came too close for comfort. It is likely if I wasn’t around to experience firsthand the ensuing fallouts, I may have let things lie. But two accidents (supposedly) following not too far apart set-off a tiny tinkle upstairs. When that starts to happen and persists, rattling occurs.  There were no unfavorable or unforeseen elements at work, yet two debilitating boat accidents occurred, with major impacts to the Harbor Bridge, and severe disruptions to citizens.  So far, I haven’t heard of equipment failure or Exxon Valdez-like personnel manning the towers.  It could be all innocent or random, or a matter of error or accident. So what? But if not, then what else is at work?

A little listening, then some digging delivered some insights.  The Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC), I understand, functions as the agents for those crashing boats.  There will be some huge claims, and somebody has got to step up, which means that the GNSC, a state-owned body will come under some pressure.  Good luck in trying to get anything out of Panama.  Also, insurance only covers so much, and already with that preliminary price tag of $1B, matters are beginning to take on indigestible proportions for GNSC.  This is secluding thoughts of opportunity for insurance scams, with Politicians, professionals, and practitioners of dark financial arts all coming into their own.  My concern is that the GNSC could be in for a time of torrid financial turbulences.

Should the PPP Government decide to get still more calculating, the GNSC could find itself abandoned.  As usual, money is the key.  I think that bankruptcy or some form of forced action could be hung over the GNSC’s head.  Believe it or not, this is the potential downside, the thread of connectivity, involving two boats banging into a well-traveled bridge.  I have already put on the table random and the rest, which I am starting to rule out.  Now if somebody thinks I am going too far, then they should check what is making the rounds.  It is that the PNC sabotaged the Bridge.  Nobody asked me yet, but if they did, this sounds like the Mon Repos Market mayhem again.

Now, something else has been gnawing, and then a flash of memory came painfully: there was that mysterious bond fire that consumed the Laparkan Trading area.  And guess which entity Laparkan was leasing space from?  Correct first time: from the GNSC.  Here is crux and key to the mystery, as I am beginning to see matters: somebody wants that space really badly.  Somebody wants GNSC out of the way, or crippled to the point of being a lame duck, so that it is much easier to hold it upside down and drown it.  In this way, there are no impediments to any big visions.

Editor, the space that GNSC is in the highest demand, and for the simple reason that it is on the waterfront.  I think some people should see the road I am taking, and like Brando, it is a hard one.  It is not a stretch in the least.  Not when I remind one and all what happened to a former top banana named BK.  Sure, that piece of prime land is all the way in Kingston, but the longer the stretch from north to south, the merrier the men of Nottingham.  To be very specific, Robb Street (Freedom House) and Irving, Texas (Exxon).  Dredge the river and setup shop right down the line.  Nice going, folks!

I acknowledge that there are others dotting the shoreline, but they are all pro and then more pro.  That is, Pro-Government and Pro-Business, which means Pro-Oil.  Nobody is interested in selling, but everybody is drooling over leasing in Yankee dollars.  Enter Woods and Routledge, and Johnnie who likes to boast.  It is why I have always wondered who really owns that fish space in Meadow Bank, and if it is some group of fishermen, then it is over before it started (presidential visit and all).  I think it could be some of the big names already capitalizing on downstream oil and washing in its slipstream.  And now it is making the sense why the billion-dollar Bishop was so energetic about his PPP Government’s massive transportation corridor, through a depressed area of all places. Connecting dots in the grand leadership schemes.

Some may say that I am overthinking, others that I am taking things too far.  It is my belief that I am on to something.  To understand rogues and highway robbers, think like a rascal.  My caution: just don’t become one. Or enamored of them.  Remember: I used to be near to them over there.

Sincerely,

GHK Lall