Home Letters International environmentalist lawyers versus Guyana’s development
Dear Editor,
It has been recorded that lawyer Melinda Janki has approached the American Export Import (US EXIM) Bank to block loans for the establishment of the gas-to- shore plants to be built at Wales. In her letter, she argues that the reason for her making the request is that this project is “improper and contrary to law.”
This is a lawyer who comes under the banner of an environmentalist who campaigns for the rights of peoples in the environment. Crudely put, she is supposedly a “concerned human being” who is gravely concerned for the hapless peoples of the world, Guyanese being the prime example here.
Now, there are a few questions I would like to put to Ms Janki: Under whose authority are you approaching the international lending agency? Were you ever authorized by the people of Guyana to represent them? After reviewing her claims, let me temper that question by posing the following: I see you are representing the two litigants, Elizabeth Deane Hughes and Vanda Radzic. The first is a heavily aligned political activist turned environmentalist, the other is a neo-colonialist who believes that she must dictate to a small developing state what we can and cannot do in our own country.
Well, I have news for these three, and this is what it is: Guyana is a sovereign state that is governed from a parliament of competent individuals, we are not subservient to persons or organizations that are laced with ulterior motives. Ours is a determination to build for ourselves a nation that is beneficial to all its inhabitants.
Where were these so-called concerned masqueraders when Guyana was rated under Haiti on the global economic scale? Where were they when our country was governed by a dictator who exploited our resources for his own personal use? Where were they?
Guyana never mattered when we were an economic backwater, a nation that was ridiculed and negatively spoken of in every corner. That’s the time when some of these expatriates spoke down to us in a disdainful manner; Guyana became an abhorrence to all and sundry. These are the questions I would like these persons to answer.
Now that The Almighty has smiled upon us with an abundance of natural resources, the naysayers have come out of the woodwork to do their dirty work. But we would not be distracted by these “obstacles to progress”, our living standards would be elevated, and that’s what we are going to do, despite those who think otherwise.
Persons the likes of these three and others would not be allowed to stop the progress that has gathered momentum in Guyana. As the fastest developing country, we will proceed in our resolve to build a prosperous nation. we can, and we will. They, on the other hand, are looking for a puppet government to whom they can dictate, one whom they can control, but that is not going to happen.
In this regard, I can hardly wait to get the response of the international lending agency, who will treat that ridiculous claim of theirs with the contempt it rightly deserves. So, let me do a brief recap of the diabolical plot devised by these individuals:
1. Stop the production of oil, from which our sovereign wealth flows. A brazen attempt to stop our progress.
2. When the natural gas is flared the “environmentalists” went to court to stop its flaring, stating that it is detrimental to the environment. Now that we are making plans for the use of the excess gas, the very same individuals are attempting to block funding for the project.
3. They are now lying in wait for an oil spill to take place
4. Now this: the blocking of a loan to build the gas-to-shore facility which would redound to the beneficial use of an entire country.
Having analyzed the foregoing, we are forced to ask the question: Are these people in any way concerned about the wellbeing of the people of Guyana? And the answer comes back a resounding no! Therefore, I will end by saying that, in a rapidly developing world, Guyana has long gone past these obstacles that are standing in our way.
Respectfully submitted,
Neil Adams