For Red Thread Calling a spade

Guyana Chronicle letter, 12 October 2007
http://www.guyanachronicle.com/letters.html
For Red Thread Calling a spade
Congratulations to President Jagdeo, for finally calling a spade a spade
regarding the timber scam. I know this must have been hard for you, but it's
about time you take your head out of the sand and stand up and be counted.
This is what the Guyanese people expect and want of you.
Now that multinationals have been involved in this huge scam, something you
and all of us knew for a long time. What is the next step? Would you give
them some more logging concessions as a punishment, more tax free
concessions?
Or will you seriously look at this as a downright dishonesty, fraud and
grounds for the termination of their contract and agreement with Guyana.
After all if you are in business with a partner who cons you and defrauds
you, don't you sever that relationship?
I think Barama and the others also have a responsibility to the Guyanese
nation and they should do the noble thing which is firstly make restitution
then gracefully terminate their agreement and leave
It has been well known that Barama logs in their concession and everybody
else's concession they can get their hands on. Lets not forget the Akwani
fiasco, which was a deliberate attempt to fraudently increase their access
to out forestry.
I think the Guyanese public also has a part to play including the
opposition. Have we forgotten how to protest and picket? Let's launch a
movement to boycott Barama and get them out of this land.
There have been no real benefits to our country. Let forget all that crap
about GDP, who does that benefit? We want real jobs, better standards of
living and a future for our kids.
Come on FPA, comparing forestry to mining only proves that you are the
lesser of two evils. What do you have to say now that the frauds have been
uncovered. I suppose the Miners association can say that yea we do more
destruction but forestry is more corrupt and robs the country more that us.
Vincent Ferreira