NY-based Guyanese weigh in on oil prospects: Return or stay?

As Guyana prepares for the production of 750,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025, some New York-based Guyanese have indicated their intentions of returning home to benefit from the oil boom and even invest in the sector. 

Some said that even though they have enjoyed life in the ‘greener pasture’ they always have Guyana at heart and had hoped that one day the country would be transformed.

They have been “following the latest news from back home,” including “the signing of the oil contract” that was made public at the end of 2017. They are disappointed that there is only a 2 per cent royalty figure on every barrel of oil in the contract.

In a report in this newspaper, experts had said that the royalty should have been far higher since the deal was concluded after ExxonMobil’s major oil find in its 6.6 million acres Stabroek Block.

Based on that, the NY-based Guyanese noted, it would take Guyana “a long time to start benefiting from the oil money.”

They said though the major improvements in the economy would attract other overseas-based Guyanese to return home. 

From rags to riches

They hope that the country is prepared for this new found wealth, referring to whether policymakers would be able to spend the oil revenues wisely and have proper accountability. 

They said that Guyana, a third world country, is going from “rags to riches” and it should put infrastructure in place, such as refineries, so as to ensure some of the added value remains in the country. 

A senior care worker from Richmond Hill, NY told this newspaper: “Guyana is a beautiful country and I will go back when it starts to benefit from the one of our natural resources because we will have a growing economy.”

She also foresees that “there would be better protection, more jobs, better schools and better networks.”

She said that people would also pay less for traveling and urged the government to provide public transportation.  

The woman would also like the authorities to spend money on health care, especially for cancer research and also establish “urgent care clinics.”

She said too that with a “better economy there would be lower interest rates on mortgages so more people can have their houses.”

A former businessman who has plans to remigrate and invest in the oil sector, said the tough cost of living is the main reason for people leaving Guyana. 

He noted that when they move to the US it may be difficult at first. “But once they get settled and start working, things will work out. At the end of the day people can come here to make a good living,” he said. 

But yet, some would prefer to return to Guyana if they can live comfortably.

He contended that “currently in Guyana business in general is very bad… Since this government took office, all sectors are down: forestry, gold production, bauxite, sugar is dead and the entire economy is affected by it.” 

“People work for small salaries, which can barely cover their expenses… They don’t see value for money…”

He said the people were eagerly awaiting the “change” that the APNU+AFC administration had promised and were disappointed that when it took office in 2015, it did not deliver. 

He urged the government to respect the constitution and call elections soon. 

Crime

He said a lot more needs to be done to improve the security system. Acknowledging that crime is rampant in other parts of the world as well, he said those countries have advanced methods of dealing with it. 

“Every day you read in the papers about some crime happening in Guyana… People are concerned about their safety and just want to know that if they go back they have good protection,” the businessman said. 

He hopes that by the time the oil starts flowing adequate security measures would be in place because “there would be a large influx… and bandits like to prey on foreigners because they think they have money…”

Leonard Ramroop is also looking forward to returning home. He has been living in NY for 31 years but said “I love my country and I always dream of returning there to live. I still believe Guyana is a better place… sometimes you don’t want to be in this cold…”

The only issue he has with Guyana is with the crime situation and the medical facilities. “When you go to the private hospitals they ripping you off… They run a set of tests that you don’t really need. And at the public hospital, they don’t have the drugs,” Ramroop said. 

In spite of that, “When I left Guyana in 1988, it was a little rough but things are better now.” For instance, “some things you get in the US you can get in Guyana too…”

With the oil boom he knows that Guyana is well on the road to development.

He does not care which political party is in power, he just wants “what is best for the people.”

Hamekaran Sarju, 67, also wants to return to Guyana but stressed that it would only happen if adequate security measures are in place. 

Sarju was operating a packaging business and did rice and livestock farming at Mahaica, East Coast Demerara. He abandoned the business and left after bandits attacked and robbed him several years ago. 

He was “afraid to sleep soundly at nights” and closed everything and migrated when he got the opportunity. 

“We have land wasting in the Mahaica River and I can mind thousands of head of cows there. I love my country and It is my dream to go back home,” he told Stabroek News. 

He expressed his disappointment with the way the government has run the country and he too wants it to announce the date for elections.

Another woman that this newspaper caught up with on Liberty Avenue, NY said that while she is happy that Guyana would benefit from the oil revenues she would not return because she has been living in NY since in the 70s. 

“I’m settled here. I don’t have many relatives there, no house, no land…. I have my foundation here. My children were born here.”

She does have an interest in the country though and wants it to “get good. Some people suffering for a long time and it’s good that they can finally have improvements in their own country.”

She said that “Guyana has too much crime… I am sorry for the people…”

Apart from that she was pleased with some of the infrastructure she saw when she visited Guyana during last year.

It is the same for 69-year-old Jaikarran (only name given), who left Guyana 37 years ago and lived in Suriname for about eight years before moving to NY. 

He has no plans to return since it would be hard for him to “start all over again. I have nothing I can go back to. I am getting my pension here and I finished paying my mortgage for my house. So basically, I’m living quite comfortable,” he told SN.

He said too that the “medical benefits you get here you cannot get in Guyana.” The only problem he had at first was getting accustomed to the winter season. “It was terrible but now I can deal with it… you just have to dress for it.”

He looked forward to spending time with his siblings in Guyana but did not visit since 2011 because “they come to NY.”

Since his retirement he has been keeping busy with helping to take care of his grandchildren. 

For someone who has achieved so much, Jaikarran, a former construction worker said “there are a lot of things that Guyanese can do to improve their lives but they have to get out of the “laid-back attitude and be prepared to work.”

He too is thrilled about the economic takeoff in Guyana and is optimistic that “the value for the dollar would increase and cost of living would go down.”