They plot is thickening. The mask and veil are being removed and people are beginning to see that neither the PPP nor the PNC is good for Guyana. Their failed, racist and cronyistic policies have both bankrupted and corrupted Guyana. News is breaking that the Granger administration accrued to themselves 16 Afro-Guyanese to serve as Permanent Secretaries and one, one, single, Indo-Guyanese. And if you think that the current administration will lose any sleep over these revelation, then you must be naive. They never apologize for anything. Similarly, do you think that the PPP lost any sleep over the story that Afro-Guyanese were not intellectual enough to serve in any country as Ambassadors of Guyana? Remember? Do you remember that when questioned about why there was not a single Afro-Guyanese serving as Ambassadors in the entire Foreign Service, Dr. Luncheon said, none of the Black Guyanese were intelligent enough? Yes. During the Jagdeo-lead administration, the PPP hired only Indo-Guyanese to fill ambassadorial positions. And they justified that racist, bigoted, position by accusing the Afro-Guyanese of being dumb and unintelligent. Now comes the (PNC) Coalition and we have the racial reverse of that despicable, racist condition, that existed during the PPP era. They have now hired just about all the Permanent Secretaries, most of whom are Afro-Guyanese. It would be very interesting to know (maybe, similarly, under oath), how the Coalition justifies this obvious imbalance. No doubt some brave journalist will ask the President or the Prime Minister to justify this racial inequity. However, it is obvious that not being under oath, they will use some trumped-up spin to wiggle their ways out of this. It is these kinds of practices that have mashed up and stagnated our dear country over these 50 years. Because what it does, is that it plays to the racial bases of either of the main parties. The law of survival dictates that people will look out for their personal existence. So Blacks will continue to vote for a ‘Black’ administration because they see that the administration is hiring those who are predominantly Black. And Indians will continue to vote for the ‘Indian’ government because they see that that government is hiring mostly Indians. This then perpetuates the destruction of the country because the elections are not about progress, or issues, or substantial matters of nationalistic development. The elections are reduced to mere ethnic and racial hegemony and survival. And if you think that Dr. Jagdeo and Brigadier Granger are not, fully, aware of these despicable realities, then you are either honestly ignorant or politically inept. The United Republican Party (URP) will continue to use these archaic racial and ethnic realities – that are exhibited by the PPP and PNC – to show the Guyanese citizens that we have to move pass this. It is time for some fresh approaches to Guyana’s problems. It is time for some new, bi-racial, cohesive, political overtures. Editor, Guyana has suffered to long from these racial, bigoted, divisiveness. Enough is enough!
The United Republican Party (URP) has carefully looked at the situation which is now engaging the cabinet and the member of the Hemp Association. We are literally at the cross roads on this matter. Hemp – from all credible research – is a plant of the cannabis family. It is true that marijuana is also a plant of the cannabis family. The quandary this and any administration will have in allowing for the local production of Hemp, is not the issue of the Hemp production but rater, the monitoring of the cannabis plantations. Hemp does not have the innate levels of Terahydrocannabinol (THC) (0.3% or higher), that marijuana has. The hallucinating ‘high’ which comes from marijuana cannot be achieved unless one smokes a substantial amount of Hemp. A crass comparison might be to equate Hemp to Banks Shandy and Marijuana to Banks Vodka. Can one get high from drinking Shandy? Sure. But it will take several shandies to get the high that one shot of Vodka would immediately produce. The immediate concern for the government is therefore to determine if the benefits of producing Hemp, outweighs the negative effects of decriminalizing a known hallucinogen. And that determination cannot and should not be taken lightly. However, it should be noted that at some point and by some Guyanese government, Hemp production will become permissible. Therefore, what is need at this time is a candid discussion on the way forward. It must be noted that most, if not all, of the developed countries have already allowed for the production of Hemp. Hemp is now a multimillion dollar addition to GDP of the countries in which it is planted, including China, Canada, and the European Union. Additionally, the byproducts of the Hemp plant are grossing in the billions of dollars. There are Hemp; ropes, creams, pills, plastics, safety wear and devices, batteries, etc. Reports are that over 2,000 products are now being derived from Hemp. The introduction of the production of Hemp is seeing a huge increase in the employment of those otherwise unemployed, in the areas where it is planted and where byproducts are produced. Hemp cultivation can be a viable solution in the diversification of the sugar industry and a utilization of those lands. To help reduces the complication of legalizing Hemp, the members of the Hemp Association are purporting that a body be formed and gazetted to be responsible for the monitoring and coordinating of the Hemp industry. Some of the challenges that the association and the government will have is the monitoring of the plantations. Constant vigilance would have to be taken to make sure that the laws regulating the Hemp production is followed. There will also have to be immediate efforts employed to facilitate the construction of factories that will see the local value added benefits of Hemp. Editor, all of the members of the local Hemp Association and many of those backing its legalization are career entrepreneurs and business people. We have a duty to our country to suggest ways in which our stagnant, high, unemployment rate can be lowered. We also have a duty to seek to increase the salary scale of those who are already working. The legalizing of Hemp production fits well into the Administration’s vision of creating the good life for all Guyanese. Finally, the URP thinks that the production of Hemp should not be made into a political football. The allowing for the production of Hemp should not be couched into political correctness. The administration needs to have those with the expertise within their fold take a candid look at the benefits of the production of Hemp and the decision to allow its production should not be made based on the political benefit or hindrance.