Your Eyewitness read a very depressing report on an alleged meltdown at the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) – even as the government’s placing quite a lot of its eggs in the agricultural basket to take us into the promised land of milk and honey. Now we know the GMC was founded by the PNC back in the day in its drive to “feed, clothe and house” the nation and they’d appointed the Sage of Buxton as its first Chairman. It was actually used to dole out patronage to the lower support base in the form of land, loans and whatever else was needed for the co-op movement – including purchasing what was produced.
Hoyte changed all of that under the ministrations of the IMF conditionalities he was forced into – because of his Founder leader’s quixotic adventures. Since then, the NEW GMC was supposed to do whatever it took to MARKET “non-traditional” crops produced by farmers – especially to foreign. We were now in the brave new world of “free markets”!! As its Mission Statement declares the GMC’s supposed to “Coordinate and facilitate the development and marketing of quality agricultural produce and product”.
Now, your Eyewitness figures it shouldn’t take long for the authorities to decide whether the complaints in this most critical institution are valid. Its responsibilities are right there on its website:
Firstly, it’s a “Marketing Information Centre that: Provides market and marketing information on market opportunities Locally, Regionally and Internationally; Provides a match-making service linking buyers and sellers; Advises on the availability of produce, freight and other marketing matters; Provides a one-stop desk for export documentation of non-traditional agricultural produce; Conducts market studies for local and overseas markets; Participates in trade fairs, and expositions to promote Guyana’s fresh fruits and vegetables, and agro-processed products; Assists exporters with registering with the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Bioterrorism Legislation; Conducts training for farmers, exporters & other stakeholders; Monitors daily wholesale and retail prices from local markets; Conducts analyses of data on prices, export volumes.”
Then it runs a “Guyana Shop: that: Promotes the sale and consumption of locally produced and manufactured non-traditional agricultural produce and products; Supports the development of micro and small agri-businesses. And finally has Packaging Facilities that: Provides facilities for the preparation of fresh produce for export; Provides facilities for the transportation of fresh produce from farm to packhouse, and from packhouse to ports of export; Provides cold storage facilities; Provides advice on the methods of preparation for fresh fruits and vegetables for export.”
Your Eyewitness is sure we’d all agree that this isn’t a “learning-on-the-job” kinda position!! So without even getting into the specifics of the charges, the powers-that-be oughta check out the credentials of the head honcho!!
…for countering Venezuela
With Mad Maduro’s Dec 3 referendum gambit for Venezuelans – those who haven’t been able to flee, that is!! – to justify his moves on our Essequibo less than a month away, we have some time to get our pieces positioned on the chessboard. We’ve gone to the ICJ – which will issue a ruling on the outrageous move to bootstrap legitimacy on his controversy on Nov 14. But we know there’s a method to Maduro’s madness – he considers the ICJ and the UN to be toothless tigers that can’t enforce their judgements. Sticks and stones…
Well, maybe we should try some sticks and stones!! And since we don’t have too many of those, then we’d better get a friend who has. Now we don’t have to look too far, do we?? But while the US – not Biden!! – has a lot of stones, it might be seduced by the mathematics of 300 vs 11 million barrels of oil!!
So how about Brazil who’s always resented Venezuela’s pretentions?
…for Gaza
With the death toll from Israeli missiles of Palestinians trapped in Gaza topping 10,000, the handwringing from the UN continues. Only superior force will stop the Israelis from what they see as an opportunity for the “final solution”.
