Dear Editor,

MY name is Rampersaud Sookhdeo. I live in La Jalousie and I want to make somethings clear. I’ve been following the news and I see that it has become an issue that I was granted two trawler licences to operate. I am a Guyanese. Why should one company have 20 and 30 licences and I can’t have two. That cannot be right. If this is a government for the people, then everyone should be given a chance to make a livelihood. I’ve been in the fisheries business for over 20 years. I made application for a licence about 20 years ago, seabob licence. I was never granted one so I head away to Trinidad. I opened a company in Trinidad between 12 to 15 years ago and operated under the name Hassid Enterprise Limited. I normally employed Guyanese to work because of the way they work, they are more reliable. About two or three years ago, it became a problem getting Guyanese to work because the people in Trinidad realised I was only employing Guyanese. It was also becoming a bit costly.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to return to Guyana. I decided to ask for help from the Guyanese Government because I’m a Guyanese and I think the government is here to help its citizens. I can’t have my investment in a country and its going down. Boats deteriorate so fast because of the salt air so if you park up your boat for about two years, you’d be lucky if you get something out of it. That is why I turn to the government for help and I got the help. I made an application and I went thought the process. If I can go Trinidad and own a company, why can’t I own one in Guyana and I’m a Guyanese? What is the problem? I’ve been in the business for a long time and I’m very familiar with the industry because I owned and operated long liner boats, Red Snapper cage boats and shrimp trawlers.

In Trinidad, it was challenging for me to operate as a Guyanese, so I partnered with an old friend on the business under the name Hassid Enterprise Limited. If you speak with the actual trawler operators in Trinidad, they would be able to tell you about me and the years I’ve been operating there. Now that I’ve been given the licence to operate, my goal is to employ persons to work. I’ll be able to hire more Guyanese than I could have in Trinidad. I want to get my business going so that I can continue to provide for my family. I would just like to be given a fair chance.
I’m not a ghost and I deserve an equal opportunity to operate a business in my home country.

Yours sincerely,

Rampersaud Sookhdeo