OLD Kai is amazed at the amount of nonsense that Opposition politicians are allowed to get away with in this country of ours and some in the media who pretend they are ‘independent’ are actually ‘dependent’; dependent on the Opposition to open their mouths so they can write a story, no matter how illogical it is. This is clearly evident with the numerous positions adopted by APNU on the sugar industry.
QUOTE: We cannot afford to remain silent any longer as this new form of economic destruction continues to take root in our National Assembly due to a one-seat majority.

The public will recall that in the lead up to the 2011 General Elections at a luncheon hosted by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association, on Wednesday May 11, 2011, David Granger had announced that were he to become President, he will privatise the sugar industry.

In fact, this is what he actually said, “I would like to get out of…state-owned sugar. I don’t think this is the concern of the state… I don’t think there is any place for state ownership of those things anymore; certainly not under David Granger.”

So this was their first position.
Then former PNC/R MP Anthony Vieira at an APNU press conference on March 11 announced that GuySuCo should get out of sugar production and convert the lands to ‘fish farms and ethanol production’. He then further refined his position by announcing at the very press conference that GuySuCo should phase out cane planting altogether and his excuse for this, according to the media, is that “because the country would be unable to produce that bio-fuel competitively.”

So we have a second APNU position which entails the closing down of the entire sugar industry and converting it into fish ponds.

Then the Guyana Times carried an article on April 6, 2014 which contained a third position on the sugar industry by APNU. In it, APNU Deputy Leader Dr. Rupert Roopnarine basically stated that APNU is not in favour of the privatisation of the sugar industry and he was quoted as saying that “I am not sure that the privatisation of the industry is what we need.”

This position by APNU is the complete opposite to the APNU position stated at the start of this column. Then there is another factor as while Dr. Roopnarine will have us believe now that his party has changed their position on the fate of the industry, he has not explained why they have been critical and threatened to cut the $6 billion PPP/C Government subvention to the industry for it to continue its modernisation efforts which includes mechanisation.

They are fully aware of the critical challenges which currently confront the industry and know that the subvention will go a long way in improving its fortunes. Threatening to not support this assistance is in effect following through on one of their position which is to close the industry in its entirety.

This is what the media needs to question the Opposition about. How can they publicly articulate at least three different positions on the industry and the media pretend it’s a non-issue, especially when the jobs of 16,000 to 20,000 Guyanese are at stake?

Added to this is the fact that the Opposition is allowed to get away with ridiculing the 2014 budget by saying it does not have a ‘human face’ or does not focus enough on the ‘social sector’ despite the reality that the majority of funding is going towards this sector.

But if Education Minister Priya Manickchand makes a comment, “Ask APNU member Sharma”, which in any eventuality is factual, it is the headline in these media entities for several days running.

Old Kai is waiting on these ‘independent’ media houses to summon the courage to start questioning the Opposition and holding them accountable for their words and actions. Anything less would confirm beyond a doubt that they are in the pockets of the APNU and AFC and are actually actively playing along with this game to confuse the Guyanese public as can be observed with the many positions on the sugar industry by APNU.

Guyanese who are concerned about the future of their country and the preservation of their economic growth and continued development needs to take a stand and let their voices be heard. All stakeholders need to get up from their slumber and speak up; the Government cannot fight your battles alone. You have to let the entire country and the international community knows that the actions of the Government are a reflection of your cause. You as a stakeholder stand to be affected by increased electricity bills if the Opposition refuses to support funding for the Amalia hydro power project once again; you or someone you know will be affected if the Opposition have their way and close down the sugar industry; you or someone you know has been affected by a serious medial ailment such as cancer or heart disease for which treatment needs to be sourced overseas at a high cost and there will be no hope in sight if the Opposition continues to withhold its support for the construction of the Specialty Hospital.

We cannot afford to remain silent any longer as this new form of economic destruction continues to take root in our National Assembly due to a one-seat majority.