Dear Mr. Editor,
I WISH to express my gratitude for allowing me space in your newspaper on May 28, 2019 to express my sentiments in regards to some of the good and commendable work of Mr. Colvin Heathrow London, who now heads NICIL. I mentioned in my letter that good deeds always need commendation.

Right after my letter was published on May 28 in regards to this goodly gentleman’s work and vision for this country, by virtue of his resuscitating Watooka House, and, as I was told, the facilities at LBI and Skeldon Estates, there appeared an article in the Guyana Times on May 30 with the headline, “Fleecing Guyana”, challenging the integrity of NICIL and to an extent Mr. London.

We have long disintegrated into a country with elements who are bent on destroying everything good, all for cheap political mileage. I want the Guyanese at home to realise that there are Opposition elements who use the press for propagating discord and adding a bitter taste to anything sweet in our lovely country. These same people sat idly by when the Marriott Hotel was built by NICIL. In fact, they were holding the reins of power when that happened.

The Chinese were brought to this country to build the Marriott, while local people were struggling for jobs. NICIL, prior to 2015, was a bitter taste in the mouths of many Guyanese. NICIL had a reputation which was fraught with underhand dealings and back- room deals. Now, as soon as Mr. Colvin Heath-London decided that he is going to show Guyana the good side of the people at the helm of NICIL, here comes the Opposition machinery of propaganda and slander.

I read with utter disgust some of the issues raised by the newspaper in question about the administration of NICIL. The bandwagon of Political opportunists filled with greed, hate and an insatiable desire for power are using every tool available to do harm to the psyche of the Guyanese people.

The fact of the matter speaks for itself. Mr. London and NICIL have no hands in the destruction of sugar in Guyana; in fact, the gentleman was appointed to see if, by virtue of his qualifications and expertise, he could salvage the remains of NICIL after the PPP regime used it as their personal inheritance. They left to ruins many government properties under their control, inclusive of the Watooka Guest House, which has now been restored.
This goodly gentleman, Mr Colvin Heathrow London intervened and saved the heritage of the Watooka House at Linden and many other government entities.

The question the naysayers should ask Mr. Colvin Heathrow-London is: Where did you get the money from to do all of this???? Tell us Mr. London! Time will not permit me to tell all that’s on my mind, but I do believe that the particular newspaper seeking to destroy the good name of NICIL and Mr. London should tell the Guyanese people and the world how the sugar industry suffered since in the 1980s, when young sugar canes were being burnt by the Opposition’s unthinking supporters who seemed not to realise they were destroying the very thing that feeds them.

What a shame!
I urge our President, Mr. David Granger to keep the presence of men of worth and vision like Mr. Colvin Heath-London. It is men of this calibre that is needed to forge Guyana ahead, and change the face and image that the previous administration has left of NICIL and its administration.

Finally, may the Government pay keen attention to those in its closest circle to know the wolves who are preying on their openness to rectify the wrongs done in and to this country and its people by the past regime. The people of this country need justice for the evil done in the name of Government under the past regime for 23 long years.

To NICIL and to Mr. London, keep the faith, and deafen your ears to the chants of the wicked.

Regards,
Leontine Allicock