Dear Editor,
There is an opportunity before us, the silver lining in the dark rain clouds is becoming apparent. Although unfortunate and stressful at the moment, the flooding does provide an opportunity to survey the country by air in order to identify the best location for the new Capital City.
It is imperative that we start to move to higher ground inland, ground that is also very fertile and can sustain our flood-affected population over the long term. The funds that have been accumulated in the bank over the course of the drilling can start the process of laying the foundation for the new Capital City. Given the new eco-friendly members of the Exxon Board, there is an opportunity to negotiate the decommissioning of the offshore wells and the conversion of the agreement into a wave-energy harvesting project. This will be beneficial to both Exxon and Guyana, while also boosting Exxon’s image as a responsible corporate citizen and accelerating its sustainable energy development initiatives.
Once an agreement is made between the United Nations and other interested affected parties for the payment of oil resources being left in the ground, these additional resources would help fund the continued development of the new capital city.
It was encouraging to read President Ali’s message on World Environment Day and his emphasis on our commitment to prevent deforestation, for which we are being compensated. This no-drill policy will echo the success of the anti-deforestation efforts that have been implemented by Guyana with European nations, and will support the Administration’s commitment to the expansion & strengthening of our National System of Protected Areas.
Many of us look forward to the current Administration leveraging its influence, as the previous Chair of the G77 & China, to bring about the urgently-needed change for our continually flooding nation.
Sincerely,
Jamil Changlee
