West Indies Cricket Fans Forum
Instead of putting us on the frontline, foreigners throwing us on the breadline
Kaieteur News – Our governments keep drumming into our heads that foreign direct investment creates jobs and supports local businesses. Yet, they have failed to make it mandatory for these foreign companies to hire local companies which have the capability to supply goods and services required by foreign investors.
When Aurora Gold Mines (AGM), a Canadian entity, decided to downscale its operations, it fired hundreds of local workers and terminated the contracts it had with many local firms that were supplying it with goods and services. Instead of placing our people on the frontline, the company put them on the breadline.
AGM then sold its operations and the rights to our gold to a Chinese firm, Zijin Mining Group. This deal allowed AGM to walk away with US$238M. The new owners also inherited all the duty-free and tax concessions from which AGM benefitted.
To add insult to injury, instead of utilizing the services of a local company which had previously done business with the AGM, Zijin instead contracted a Chinese firm to provide the same services. Local firms instead of benefitting from foreign investment are being shunted aside. These practices defeat the justification for foreign direct investment – creating jobs and supporting local businesses.
Foreign companies come here and benefit from generous tax concessions. They rape our resources and exploit our workers.
They profit handsomely by reselling the rights to these resources and concessions to other foreign firms, which then snub local workers and businesses. This is the reality of foreign direct investment in Guyana.
Wake up Guyana! It is time we bring an end to this crude and cruel exploitation of our workers and local businesses and the plunder of our resources.
It is time for us to take back control of our country’s wealth.
About the author
Guyana Diaspora Forum
We have a large database of Guyanese worldwide. Most of our readers are in the USA, Canada, and the UK. Our Blog and Newsletter would not only carry articles and videos on Guyana, but also other articles on a wide range of subjects that may be of interest to our readers in over 200 countries, many of them non-Guyanese We hope that you like our selections.
It is estimated that over one million Guyanese, when counting their dependents, live outside of Guyana. This exceeds the population of Guyana, which is now about 750,000. Many left early in the 50’s and 60’s while others went with the next wave in the 70’s and 80’s. The latest wave left over the last 20 years. This outflow of Guyanese, therefore, covers some three generations. This outflow still continues today, where over 80 % of U.G. graduates now leave after graduating. We hope this changes, and soon.
Guyanese, like most others, try to keep their culture and pass it on to their children and grandchildren. The problem has been that many Guyanese have not looked back, or if they did it was only fleetingly. This means that the younger generations and those who left at an early age know very little about Guyana since many have not visited the country. Also, if they do get information about Guyana, it is usually negative and thus the cycle of non-interest is cultivated.
This Guyana Diaspora Online Forum , along with its monthly newsletter, aims at bringing Guyanese together to support positive news, increase travel and tourism in Guyana and, in general, foster the birth of a new Guyana, which has already begun notwithstanding the negative news that grabs the headlines. As the editor and manager of the publication, I am committed to delivering Blog entries and Newsletters that are politically balanced, and focused on the positive ideas we wish to share and foster among Guyanese.
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