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Jagdeo break-dancing; tight-rope walking  Aug 15, 2024 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column Kaieteur News – I am caught between two extremes when Guyana’s chief oil policy mandarin, Bharrat Jagdeo, is part of the discussion.  First, there are waves of laughter at the holes that he digs for himself; the second is I feel sorry for the leader and brother.  When I watch from a distance how he manages Guyana’s great oil treasure, the thought solidifies that Jagdeo should have been at the 2024 Paris Olympics.  He would have been a surefire gold medal winner in breakdancing, tightrope sleepwalking, backflipping, and trapezing.  Clean sweep for champ and country. GHK Lall I laugh at the big Guyana oilman who bit off more than his mouth could hold when he assigned himself sole control of the national oil portfolio.  Talk about choking and gurgling helplessly, and Jagdeo is the man.  The man requires an expert in Heimlich manoeuvre therapy on constant call to free his airwaves.  I laugh at him when he tries to bluster and bully his way out of answering tough questions on his management and decision-making with the people’s patrimony.  The more he futzes and flails futilely, the more I am seeing the dancing bear President Ali.  Who learned from whom, that is the polite inquiry, if I may?  I laugh at the master prevaricator when he tries walking sideways for extended periods, only to lose his way.  I laff at him when he turns his gaze sideways, speaks from the sides of his mouth, and ends up making himself a sideshow and a side joke.  I give him a helping hand: Guyanese are bored stiff with his antics and facial tics, with his own disgruntled people leading the growing army of disillusioned.  Those are not answers to the burning questions surrounding oil. Get a new act, Oil Champ Jagdeo.  It is time to jettison such escape strategies (farces) as ‘answered before’ and ‘answered a million times’ and ‘talk to Vick.’ It is another patented Jagdeo dead-end and Guyanese have been dealing with him [BJ] for too many long disappointing years not to see through that slick shift that dangles Minister Vick as bait.  To be frank, that newest Jagdeo three-card move is what gives Guyanese the shivers.  They are still hanging for want of one straight oil answer.  Even more frankly, the natural resources man has since unveiled the new Minister Vick Bharrat: a brand-new political religion taken up.  It is one that requires vows of silence, plus total abstinence from anything to do with shedding light on Guyana’s storybook oil riches. It is the stuff of fairies and wicked witches.  PPP operational fairies are known quantities, but I throw in fiendish wizards to maintain gender neutrality and balance.  I can’t stop laughing (not loving to remove any Ray Charles ideas) at brother Bharrat J: he tied bundles with the white brothers, so now he must parrot their lines.  About judicial predictability.  About parent company guarantee.  About investor sentiment and they are spooky people.  About return on investment for Exxon et al now and maximizing returns for Guyanese up the road. I am reduced to laugher, not anger, when this world champion Guyanese oil leader convinces himself that all Guyanese are deaf, dull, and daft.  To keep him on level ground: all Guyanese minus this one, skipper chief.  Bottom line: when I watch Jagdeo gliding clumsily, goring reporters arrogantly, and making a pathetic spectacle of himself, I see a man selling smoke and the stuff of the sewer and pushing Guyanese to believe that it is snow.  Pure, clean snow, no; one snow job after another, yes.  When a man must shelter behind the Fifth (his right against self-incrimination), the reflexive thought is what does he have to hide with this oil?  Plenty, many locals believe.  My stand is ‘how plenty is plenty?’ I also feel sorry for brother Jay.  He gets bombarded from all angles.  SN editorials that enrage.  Peeping Tom articles that see much, shout more, scorch his waking hours.  If I were to say Lall, any of such colourful characters, epilepsy episodes gather stormy energy in Jagdeo, send him off the deep end.  It is too much for one man, no matter how invincible he may fool himself into thinking that he is.  When it is not what he is doing about ring-fencing, it is taxes.  Before he could stutter and sputter about those two, Jagdeo gets many fusillades and still more broadsides about interest rates and the rate at which he carries on.  Damnit! The man isn’t even allowed to hold a press conference the way he wants.  That is, bully his way, take advantage of some little people, and chatter nonstop about how he is the best thing that Guyana has ever had going for it.  Meaning, before and after the Georgetown Seawall.  According to Jagdeo, if it wasn’t for him, Guyanese would still be living without electricity and in slavery.  He conveniently forgot the new ones that he perpetuates.  Truly, I feel sorry for the man Jagdeo. He lectures Guyanese about how oil bright he is and many of those same Guyanese point to Alistair Routledge and ask what he is still doing here.  He and his billboards.  He and his cricket sponsorship.  Please keep him far from the li’l duck curry competitions is all I ask.  Jagdeo brought all of this on his head.  All he had to do was humble himself a tad, listen.  Implement also.  Instead, he snarled and slapped his hand on the table, set his dogs free.  He knows who, how, and against whom.  I told Jagdeo and many of his PPP brethren that the Americans may be boisterous, but they don’t have much regard for blowhards, bloviators, and those who Guyanese call Christmas blow-blows.  They cooled him down with OFAC, then cornered him with Nigel Hughes.  On the former, the word is that Jagdeo fingerprints may be around developments.  Re the latter, the Yanks blindsided him.  That is my story with my oily brother Barry: laff story first; sorry city later. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) Related Similar Articles

Beyond an economic vision of development Aug 15, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom Kaieteur News – The rhetoric of what constitutes progress is often tied to the language of economics. In Guyana, intellectually bankrupt leaders have tried to convince us that road to prosperity is paved with the bricks of GDP growth, foreign direct investment, and infrastructural expansion. The vision is one of gleaming cities, bustling marketplaces, and a rising standard of living. These however are not always quantified. Yet, amid this flurry of numbers, one critical element is frequently overlooked—the human person. The end product of development is not the economy; it is the individual, the living, breathing human being who must inhabit the society that is being built. And this person is not simply an economic entity; their essence cannot be captured by economic metrics alone. The idea that an economic vision alone can drive meaningful development is a seductive one. It offers a sense of control, a way to measure progress in clear, objective terms. Yet, this focus on economics risks reducing the human person to a mere statistic, a unit of production or consumption whose value is determined by their contribution to the economy. In this view, development becomes a matter of increasing output, raising income levels, and ensuring that the machinery of the economy runs smoothly. But the human person is not a cog in the economic machine. They are a complex, multifaceted being whose needs extend far beyond the material. The satisfaction of basic needs—food, shelter, clothing—is indeed a prerequisite for human development, but it is not the end point. While the satisfaction of basic needs is undoubtedly crucial, it is important to recognize that it is only the starting point, not the destination. Human development begins with the provision of food, water, shelter, and healthcare, but it must go beyond these necessities. Once basic needs are met, the focus should shift to the higher-order needs that contribute to a person’s overall well-being—education, meaningful work, social connection, and personal fulfillment. To understand the true nature of development, we must look beyond the economic vision and embrace a broader, more humanistic understanding of what it means to live well. At the heart of the humanistic vision is the recognition that human beings are not merely economic actors. We are social creatures, emotional beings, spiritual entities, and ethical agents. Our well-being is not solely determined by our material circumstances; it is also shaped by our relationships, our sense of purpose, our capacity for joy, and our ability to live in accordance with our values. Development, therefore, must encompass not only the satisfaction of basic needs but also the cultivation of these deeper aspects of human existence. The humanistic vision of development asks us to consider questions that cannot be answered by economics alone: What makes life meaningful? What brings happiness? What allows a person to flourish? These are not matters that can be left to economists or policy makers to decide through metrics and models. They require a broader perspective, one that draws on philosophy, psychology, ethics, religion and the arts—disciplines that explore the full range of human experience. The limitations of economic metrics become evident when we consider the complexity of human well-being. Take, for example, the concept of happiness. Economists may attempt to measure happiness through surveys and indices, but these efforts often fall short. Happiness is a deeply subjective experience, influenced by a wide range of factors—relationships, work, health, community, and even spirituality. It is not something that can be fully captured by a single number or formula. Moreover, the pursuit of economic growth can sometimes lead to outcomes that are detrimental to human well-being. The paradox is that the very tools we use to measure development can blind us to the true end of development: the flourishing of the human person. As we look to the future, it is clear that a purely economic vision of development is insufficient. We need a broader, more inclusive approach that recognises the full range of human needs and aspirations. This means rethinking our priorities, our policies, and our metrics. It means embracing a vision of development that is not only about economic growth but also about human flourishing. The true end point of development is the creation of a society where every individual has the opportunity to live a good life—a life that is rich in meaning, purpose, and happiness. This is the vision of development that we must strive for, one that places the human person at the center of our efforts and recognizes that the ultimate goal of development is not economic but human. This is why we need to turn to the humanities to help shape our vision of the future, one that places the human person above everything else. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) Related Similar Articles

Throwing money at GuySuCo now is just fueling more corruption and has nothing to do with reviving that dead corporation Aug 15, 2024 Letters Dear Editor, I see the usual drivel written about GuySuCo by Robin Singh in the Stabroek newspaper of August 11, 2024. In which he alleges that GuySuCo and its 8000 workers have received another 4 billion tranche, and it shows the PPP’s commitment to the industry and its workers and (sic) notwithstanding that the Opposition is objecting to the new $4 billion tranche, as a complete waste of national funds. It is Singh’s view that the $4 billion will revive the industry. Obviously, his love of fiction forbids him to see the truth. And today 14th August 2024, I see the Opposition asking some telling questions in Parliament, with quite unacceptable responses from the PPP. I promised myself that I would not write on GuySuCo matters anymore, since it is very disturbing to do the numbers and see the depths to which that entity has sunken, but I am going to write to expose any publication which seeks to tell the public that what the PPP is doing in GuySuCo makes sense. Editor, I and former colleagues have been doing the numbers, and we are convinced that GuySuCo’s cost per pound of sugar today exceeds 1 US dollar/pound, and since the production of GuySuCo is so poor, we appear to be importing sugar from other countries like Guatemala and Belize today. But now, since I see the new CEO whose qualifications to be in that position has to be purely political, since I was on that Board for 3 years 2020 September to September 2023, I can’t say that I saw the gentleman at many of those meetings, and I also don’t remember him making much of a contribution at even those he did attend. Furthermore, as a cane farmer delivering cane to Uitvlugt estate, I consider him to be not only incapable of performing as CEO, especially since his back up staff in the corporation is at best poor, but he has placed himself in a complete conflict of interest situation, since he is the CEO of a company to which he is also delivering cane. On the 21st May, 1976, i.e. the night of the nationalization of the Guyana Sugar industry in 1976, I attended a dinner at the Hotel Tower with my father and the then Minister of Agriculture at that time, Gavin Kennard, after we came from the handing over of the sugar holdings of Bookers to the Government of Guyana. That night at dinner, Mr. Kennard told my father that he was their first choice to be the new chairman of GuySuCo not Harold Davis, but he failed the test because he is also a cane farmer delivering cane to that company. As villainous as the PPP make him out to be, Burnham at least understood two things, 1. That you can’t run a country with total jokers and incompetent people, and 2. You can’t place them in conflict-of-interest positions, e.g. Ministers whose families are getting massive government contracts, etc. The alleged corrupt Burnham government understood the danger of conflict of interest, which apparently the PPP can’t or refuses to accept. The Minister is now on the record as looking around Guyana and did not see any competence, that’s why he brought the Cubans. All I can say is that he is completely blind, but cunning, because Cubans won’t alert the people of Guyana when they see the massive wrongdoing going on there. Editor, to counter these spurious claims made by Robin Singh et al, I must give evidence why such a very complex corporation can be destroyed very quickly when manned by these incompetent political hacks the PPP keeps putting in charge of our national business. My example is that in 2021 from the 15th of May to the 12th of June, only a total of 25.3 inches [642.4 mm] of rain fell at Albion/Port Mourant. This was not an exorbitant amount of rainfall by any yardstick for Albion’s designed drainage system, in Guyana to drain our rainy seasons since Dutch times, the entire country’s drainage system was designed to remove 1.5 inches of precipitation every 24 hours in Agriculture, and 2 inches in the housing areas. Using those criteria in the period 15th May to 12th June, if the Albion drainage system was working properly, the estate could have removed [29 days @ 1.5 inches/day] 43 inches [1092.2 mms] of rainfall. When I, was chairman of the operations committee, I investigated how there could have been a flood of the entire Albion cultivation for two months literally destroying the entire cultivation, with so small an amount of rainfall. I discovered that of the 11 huge 3-foot diameter drainage pumps Albion/Port Mourant has to drain its cultivation only six were working. Also the incompetent management at Albion at the time, failed to secure its cultivation from the rising Canje River, which has always been the custom and practice in the past. I also discovered that the “technical team” of GuySuCo wrote a pack of lies and submitted it to the MOA and the President. This led in the end, to the President [wrongly and publicly] arguing with the head of the GAWU union in a confrontation at the Enmore Martyrs’ Ceremony. That flood was not a natural disaster, it was caused by incompetence and neglect. In less than one year after taking over from the coalition, under a CEO, who never worked in sugar or clearly in any other major corporation before, was appointed by the PPP, and presided over the almost complete destruction of the Albion cultivation. Editor that day when I blew up in the Board meeting, I had already resigned, but the chairman begged me to attend the meeting, and after three years of nonsense, I was unable to contain myself further, when the CEO refused to abide by the ruling of the chair and called him Lowenfeld. Because of me and the then Chairman, Mr. David, of Demerara Bank, constantly complaining about how badly the corporation is being run, the board of GuySuCo met the President and other major functionaries of the government, an unprecedented 5 or 6 times in three years. Throwing money at GuySuCo now is just fueling more corruption and incompetence and has nothing to do with reviving that dead corporation. Tony Vieira Related Similar Articles

Gargantuan waste is possible under the PPP with our new wealth Aug 15, 2024 Letters Dear Editor, In response to a letter writer in another section of the media regarding the potential for Guyana to follow China wasting national resources in its thrust for development, this is indeed possible, and has been the case with the PPP’s now unheralded sojourn in government. In his grand scheme to enthrall Guyanese that ‘development’ is here, Irfaan Ali posed with his ‘master plan’ to build a $6.0 billion proposal, quite obviously not seriously considered or been advised, and sought to address the problems peculiar to the economic and social plight of single parent moms as a specific class/target group. By his proposal Irfaan quite openly admits to the trenchant housing challenges of this group, a consequence of the encroaching economic constraints sponsored by the PPP, which include under-education, under-employment, domestic stress in extended family homes and the potential for abuse at the hands of derelict dads ready to make the next child. It’s quite easy to see an economic solution that involves monthly stipends to provide financial stability, counseling, nursery services and accommodation for involved children, re-education/skills training to provide opportunities for higher income jobs, where ever these may be. This is a classic example of alternative policy options/choices that demonstrate ill-advised policy, the scale of misallocation where the needy remains in need, that have been part of the PPP’s approach to economic development, a phrase they see on paper but quite likely are seriously impoverished as many Guyanese literally are, in understanding or responding to. Their programmes with few exceptions have been political gimmicks. Like keeping sugar workers institutionalised on financially busted estates for their votes at taxpayers’ expense. A grand idea, the Berbice Bridge has become an albatross around the necks and lives of Berbicians with no let-up in sight. Going back to the $6.0 billion Irfaan Ali homestead, it is very easy to envisage a 100, 500, 750 mothers and their children living with their fathers visiting them looking for a place to stay if possible perpetuating abuse, the filthy environment of ghetto life that accompanies economically depressed communities. Adequate water, lights, schools, health centers, jobs available in surrounding communities? Or they have to bus themselves to Linden, Georgetown, the East Bank, etc.? Undoubtedly gargantuan economic waste is possible, and underway with the PPP, going back even before the US$40.0 million Fip Motilall Road To Nowhere (Amaila Falls) along with kickbacks was built. There’s the CJIA project that almost never ended, the sawdust in bags saga, and all those road projects that are forever in need of repairs wasting taxpayers’ money. Not to mention those over-budget construction expenditures.  These days I spend my spare time trying to estimate the amount of kickbacks collected.  Corruption money. But that can be changed come November 2025.  Just like in 2015. Sincerely, Craig Sylvester, Democratic National Congress Related Similar Articles

.tdi_3.td-a-rec{text-align:center}.tdi_3.td-a-rec:not(.td-a-rec-no-translate){transform:translateZ(0)}.tdi_3 .td-element-style{z-index:-1}.tdi_3.td-a-rec-img{text-align:left}.tdi_3.td-a-rec-img img{margin:0 auto 0 0}@media (max-width:767px){.tdi_3.td-a-rec-img{text-align:center}} SPORTS MAX- Antigua and Barbuda’s National Hero and iconic West Indies batsman, Sir Vivian Richards, has hailed the accomplishments...

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Besieged Aug 14, 2024 Editorial Kaieteur News – Guyana’s major institutions are under siege at the hands of the PPP/C Government that is firmly focused on a vision of total control. One public institution after another has surrendered their independence, are no longer seen as neutral as they should be. The PPP/C Government juggernaut moves with the confidence of an irresistible force. The result has been that many constitutional bulwarks have been rolled around like dice in the hands of the government, the craven will of its leaders. Recently, the judiciary has come under attack from government sources, with it being the latest constitutional protective plank targeted in an environment that teeters on the borders of a nuanced dictatorship. Among Guyana’s public institutions wounded by the manipulations of a calculating PPP/C Government, the Guyana Police Force stands out starkly.  The Force has been politicized and weaponized to jump to the bidding of government leaders.  Leaders are versed in saying the right things in public but implement the opposite behind the scenes.  The Force is compromise and demoralized to the detriment of Guyanese interests.  In the usual manner of insecure politicians, those with a fetish for control, a Force that is professional and untouchable, is seen as a threat.  One that takes its duties seriously and uncompromisingly instils fear in a government that recommends itself as clean, but which is weighed down by an endless litany of corruption.  From perceptions to practices, this is the reality of the Force in Guyana, and this is not good for any Guyanese. The Environmental Protective Agency (EPA) has fallen under the suffocating grip of a sellout PPP/C Government, with ExxonMobil (and other downstream operators in the oil sector) setting their own standards and being allowed to get away with those.  One government leader is always seeking to reassure Guyanese with repeated references to “technical people.”  He gives the impression that the EPA knows what it is doing, is in full charge of the oil companies and those that support them.  The reality is that the local EPA has been gutted and hobbled by the determined actions of a PPP/C Government that is more for the foreign companies than it is for the Guyanese owners of the national oil wealth. The EPA doesn’t have a good supply of the quality technical people that it needs, which has reduced it to a pawn in the hands of the foreign oil companies and their onshore vendors. This seems to be the overall thrust of government’s objectives; and it is what forms part of the games and smokescreens of national leaders. Speak sweetly in public, besiege the EPA to a state of weakness, which means helplessness. To restate the obvious, there is something about the media that has driven to distraction one PPPC Government after another.  Because it has so many secrets that must remain hidden, the government’s top people fear a free and independent media.  To limit its exposure the government has full control over State media in all its forms and has cultivated private media sources committed to looking the other way, asking no tough questions.  In contrast, PPPC Government leaders show their real side when they attack, abuse, and seek to crush independent media house, their journalists, and their other contributors.  What honest government, which principled national decisionmakers, lives in such conditions of perpetual dread?  A government that conducts the business of the people cleanly should welcome an independent and vibrant media as an asset, if not as a partner that helps to get the best for Guyanese.  Unfortunately, this has not been the experience of Guyana’s independent media. Lately, the judiciary, like the independent media, one that is not totally overpowered and dominated by the PPPC Government, has come under attack.  Justices Sandil Kissoon and Gino Persaud have incurred the wrath of an impatient and hostile government unhappy with their rulings.  Then, a magistrate felt some government heat in the ongoing elections fraud case.  Cumulatively, public institutions are besieged, with the PPPC Government intensifying its efforts to strip them of any independence they have.  This is to the discredit of a government that delights talking about democracy, but has lost touched with democracy’s values, the ways in which a genuine democracy functions. Related Similar Articles