Dear Editor,
First it was because of care and concern for the environment, and by extension the people of this country, that we must shut down the Amaila Falls HEP. Those were the words of the Opposition PNC post-2011. They were so concerned for the people’s welfare that the governing PPP/C Government of the day had to shelve that project.
Even while they were in Government, they never paid any attention to this project, one that was given the international all-clear as an environmentally friendly project, and one that would greatly reduce our energy bill. Thus, as a result of the PNC’s relentless assault on that PPP/C-initiated project, Amaila Falls, the project never saw a startup nor a completion date. And this has been the myopic approach of the PNC ever since.
Fast forward to 2021 and we see the same theory resurfacing. This time, it is the destruction of the mangroves at Malgre Tout/ Versailles. Please save the mangroves! Please save the people. They lament the uprooting and “wanton destruction” of the mangroves by the TriStar developer, which they contend would cause the floodwaters of the Atlantic Ocean to come rushing in and inundate all the surrounding villages within the developmental work area. Then cry me a river that this party can be so overly concerned about the safety and wellbeing of our country! I am so moved by their call!
From experience, when the PNC party is so involved in something – anything for that matter – one is tempted to ask the question: Is it sheer concern for the people and the ecosystem that they seek the cessation of this project, or is there some other ulterior motive?
I am more inclined to believe there is a motive behind it.
Their motive is that no project initiated by this present Government should succeed, it is as clear as the noonday sun.
I know the newspapers are not fond of my use of the term Sympathetic Judas, but I will use it anyway. Isn’t this latest call by the Opposition a cry of a Sympathetic Judas?
I think this aptly describes the PNC’s latest actions. With no futuristic plan of their own, and no developmental goals in mind, how can they lay claim to anything sensible in their latest quest on the mangroves? It sure boggles the mind, if I should say the least.
The developer is preparing a shore base, which is a wholesome, environmentally-friendly and structurally sound economic venture. Yes, along the way, a few mangroves would be destroyed, but these will be adequately taken care of by aggressive coastal afforestation and land reclamation programmes already in the pipeline by the PPP/C. So, what’s the problem? What’s the hue-and- cry?
The PNC’s problem is that they cannot face the fact that this country is on a forward upward trajectory that cannot be stopped, at least not now or ever. So, in their quest to gain some relevance in a present-day Guyana, they are harping on these supposed pitfalls that might lie in the way.
Utter hogwash! In the pursuit of progress, there might be a few difficulties along the way, but nothing to be alarmed about. So, my advice to the poorly-informed PNC is: No, thanks!
If I might further add, this inordinate concern is nothing more than a shoring up of their fractured ego. This party have lost the election, and do not want to accept it, so, in their haste to regain some degree of relevance, they have resigned themselves to a life of being an obstructionist.
However, this backward and intellectually bankrupt approach will not work. Guyana will move ahead irrespective of their negativity.
Respectfully,
Neil Adams
