ON February 14, 2023, I was privileged to attend the opening ceremony of the second International Energy Conference and Expo in Georgetown Guyana.

Once again, the coordinator and his astute team has done an exceptional job at hosting the four-day event in an atmosphere filled with the buzz of economic growth, innovations and business expansion with prosperity for all Guyanese, and our visiting business executives from world-class international corporations who are seeking inroads to fortify their pathway to share in the prosperity of our most rewarding natural resource.

One cannot dispute that the Master of Ceremonies and all the presenters were of exceptional calibre, and have delivered inspiring, brilliant and dynamic speeches.

However, the most impactful speaker to me was none other than the Honourable Dr. Ralph Gonsalves – Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

During his speech, Dr. Gonsalves chose to move away from the traditional political discourse which is often decorated with politics, economics and promises.

Rather, he chose to redirect his thoughts and attention to the audience by highlighting the socio-economic challenges which are prevailing in our society. He has called on the leaders to focus on the importance of the unique family structure, domestic abuse, assault, divorce, poverty, teenage pregnancy and incest, alarming rates of obesity, high school dropouts, illiteracy, alcohol use and abuse in Guyana and the Caribbean.

I echo Dr. Gonsalves’ appeal and call upon our educators, our local civil society leaders, our politicians, and leaders in our religious institutions to be cognisant of the ills and declines of the moral fabric of our society.

Do not shy away from the challenging issues. Work on addressing these matters urgently!

Yours respectfully,
Nazar Mohamed
Businessman