TOO many Guyanese are gullible and they have paid the price, but are still paying same, and may very well continue to do so in the future.

I am absolutely appalled as I pen this missive, not to be inflammatory in any way, but to address a national issue which should have already been looked into. But perhaps the media, the authorities and not to exclude, the Guyanese themselves, have not cared to investigate, though they have in massive numbers, been victims of the issue I wish to bring to your attention. The issue I speak of surrounds the existence, operations, practices and lure of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) in Guyana.
UCKG is a Pentecostal Christian Organisation which was established in Brazil on July 9, 1977, with a presence in many countries. They have been in Guyana for more than two years now  and have begun their operations to possibly lure, exploit and ‘con’ innocent Guyanese under the name of religion and God. They have their main branch in Georgetown with several other centres in other parts of the country; they conduct public luring on the streets under the trick to “offer you a prayer”; they hold mass media programmes; and not to mention their distribution of pamphlets, yet again under the name of religion. In fact, they can be seen daily on at least four local television stations. Not to talk of the “organised” testimonies played during these programmes and the tactics used to attract Guyanese which include keeping water on your table for prayer through the TV; writing down of names on a prayer book for healing and addressing of financial challenges, etc, etc.
So, what does all of the above have to do with our country and where are the facts to support same? We firstly need to investigate them and find out what are truly the damage and potential exploitation to the citizens of Guyana.
I call here for the attention of both the media and the authorities to investigate this organisation. We need to know whether they are here in Guyana legally! We need to know what duration of work permits were given to them! As foreigners, how have they acquired buildings and land, especially in the city? Do they really have so many resources? Only the authorities and media can help in this regard. I call on them to do same.
Why I called for this? The UCKG has been exposed via Wikipedia to have committed tremendous fraud on people worldwide and the Guyana media houses have all reason to investigate likewise in the interest of our people, before it’s too late. I will quote here some passages from Wikipedia and leave all the other investigations to the media and the authorities. “Throughout its history, the church has been charged with immoral and illegal deeds, including money laundering, charlatanism, witchcraft and intolerance toward Judaism, Islam, Catholicism, other Protestant and Christian groups, Spiritism, Neo-Paganism,New Japanese Religions, Atheism, Agnosticism, homosexuality and especially Afro-Brazilian syncretic religions such as Umbanda and Candomblé. The church is accused of extracting money from congregants, who are often poor, and using the money to enrich UCKG leaders instead of distributing it to the needy. Accusations of charlatanism are the most frequent. As a consequence of such charges, the church has been under investigation in Belgium. There have been detailed reports in the U.S., U.K., Brazil, and Zambia”. Wikipedia went on, “Bishop Macedo, the founder and leader of the Church, was prosecuted for tax evasion in the state of São Paulo and imprisoned for 11 days in 1992”.
Moreover, Wikipedia shares, “According to the Brazilian press, a judge has accepted prosecutors’ claims that the founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and nine other leaders took advantage of their positions to commit fraud against the church and its followers. Prosecutors accuse the leader of the church, Bishop Edir Macedo, and nine other church leaders of laundering more than US$2 billion in donations from 2001 to 2009. It is believed through federal government reports that the money that is given by the followers is gathered, used and placed in private banks in both New York (via Invest Holding, a private lending bank) and London. The money is then sent through Cable Invest, a private bank located in the Cayman Islands. Finally, it is sent to Brazil through Brazilian lending companies “Cremo” and “Unimetro”, lender banks of which then are in charge to split the money to Rede Record (Publicising the picture of this child runs contrary to the Convention on the Rights of the Child owned television network) executives who then supply more money to UCKG officials”.
However, Wikipedia did write that UCKG had defended against accusations on their own websites and some cases against them as well were lost in court. However, we in Guyana must make things clear and the rest is now left in the hands of the authorities and media. Let us also at the same time not under-estimate the destruction, hurt, disrespect and insult the UCKG has so far caused to other faiths in Guyana as they (UCKG) continuously lure away the followers from other faiths through their many tactics employed. Where then is the religious tolerance we boast of? Guyanese, beware! Not all that shines is gold! An investigation needs to be done into UCKG.