Kaieteur News
PAGE 04
Sunday November 10, 2019
Kaieteur News
Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Laying down the law to law enforcers
T
he words, hard instructions from the head of the Traffic Department to police drivers were blunt and sharp. Observe speed limits studiously, stay in lane patiently, and minimise carefully the use of ‘blue lights.’ Then, above all, reserve the use of sirens for emergency situations, emergency situations only. All of this and more were emphasised in what amounted to an emergency seminar, that lasted an entire day, and which means there were costs incurred from feeding a contingent of officers, utilising some necessarily vital training from scarce budget monies, and removing those same ranks from immediate road duties. It was management of the Guyana Police Force in action, after a series of troubling public developments involving traffic ranks. The seminar unfolded before an assembled choir of its ranks, which is now forced to listen to the directives from above, and then follow them to the fullest. It took a long time and after much destruction to taxpayer assets, as well as loss of life and limb. The announcements from police brass were unambiguous and signified serious intentions at cracking down hard, with the aim of stamping out malpractices authoritatively. We shall see. This paper is of the impression that the seniors are serious, and they mean business, with dependence on time to be the best judge of all. This is all good news for harried daily commuters, who all toe the line, wait in line at lights, and stay in their lane, while praying for help (or swearing) before the unyielding traffic gods. Suffering members of the public do so without having access to sirens, or anything resembling the stateempowered clout of mainly men in uniform, or the power and pull of seniors wearing stripes or stars, or the camouflaging tint of officially sanctioned vehicles. Like friends and neighbours and fellow impatient, angry, and disgusted drivers, regular citizens line up, wait their turn, and bear their chafe. They are in no hurry to arrive early in the mortuary (or in the hospital or courts). The police people must be the same way, too; with juniors and seniors showing some regard for standing procedures (if not the law itself), while extending some respect and courtesy to a tortured, dismayed public. This publication is desirous of knowing the reasons for constant shows of swaggering force. Why there is the almost uninterrupted abuse of state facilities, and misuse of statedeposited power? For when these occur, the wreckages to man and machine multiply, the image and reputation of the GPF collapse before what is safe, professional, even ethical. For there have been consistent individual and GPF contributions to the scorn attracted, perhaps detestations of, those members of the Force, who fly past the ordinary man uncaringly, arrogantly, and dangerously. Of necessity, the same questions from before must be repeated: where are they going in such an ungodly hurry? Why the high-speed haste to not be late, when there is the infinitely higher risk of ending up as the late constable this, or the departed corporal that, or the mourned Inspector so and so? The requisite training has never been lacking, merely the intentions to obey and practice as a matter of routine. And to be very candid, only the administrative will higher up, to enforce discipline on one’s own with the severest of stripes inflicted for these ongoing traffic shortcomings. Because of the latter, it is unsurprising that care and discipline fell by the wayside and, increasingly, perilous recklessness took chronic hold. Nobody in charge was doing anything of substance, while some of those in charge, were part of the problem, through their own abuses and misuses of lanes and sirens and speed limits. As should be expected, safety suffered, with fear and disgust surfacing and refusing to leave the public’s consciousness. People had to die before the madness registered, before the red lights of official realisation, and the related required reaction took belated root. The circumstances pointed to new vehicles damaged, expensive taxpayers’ property wasted, only to be followed by casual consignment to the growing pile of vehicles in (Continued on page 7)
Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.
Our oil discovery may offer the last chance for the major political parties to stand up for our people Dear Editor, The humble fruit vendor selling at Bourda Market understands the difference between price and value. She grasps the value of her golden apples and sweet mangoes. She prices them at or above their fair value. She knows the prices of inferior produce and how far potential customers would have to travel to purchase her quality offerings. Hence, she prices her produce to reflect the premium they are worth. But in Guyana’s case, the price negotiated for our lucrative oil resources would cause the humble vendor to shake her head in disgust.
In terms of extraction cost, we are among the world’s cheapest. Our oil is cheaper to extract than shale oil—even if one excludes the cost of earthquakes caused by fracking. As Hess notes, in its investor material, the Liza field has the lowest break-even cost for global offshore and share resources. We don’t have a high sulfur content like the Alberta’s tar sands, which in 2020, will trigger new shipping regulations that will impose taxes on high sulfur content fuel. Our oil is not landlocked and subject to 40% discount to market prices which is the current situation in Alberta. Ours is the top-quality light sweet crude that can be quickly shipped to the refineries in Texas. More importantly,
Guyana may be become a key producer of high-quality oil that is cheap to extract. Investment analysts have recently started questioning the depletion of the Saudi Arabia oil fields. Saudi Arabia in its bid to raise funds, using its oil fields as collateral, is starting to reveal the state of those fields. Its crown jewel, Ghawar oil field, has investment analysts concerned. That field may have already passed the halfway point of depletion. Its production has dropped from 5 million barrels/day in 2004 to about 3.6 million barrels/day. Simple demand and supply economics would tell us: The more the Ghawar field depletes, the more the price of our oil increases. The Guyanese people
are waking up to the unfair Oil Contracts where we are getting little (a miniscule 14.25 barrels out of every 100 barrels) will be clawed back by questionable precontract costs and Operating Expenses we are incapable of verifying. There are about 500,000 Guyanese living abroad. But our country has enviable attributes for healthy living: 1. In New Delhi, people wear face masks to protect themselves from pollution. Our fresh sea breeze is rejuvenating. 2.We can eat a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. In North America, the mangoes and bananas arrive green and then ripen in the stores. Yes, stale foods compared to freshly picked. (Continued on page 7)