Dear Editor, The A Partnership for National Unity/Allaince For Change (APNU/AFC) has been vigorous in elucidating to farmers that rice is a Private Sector industry and that the selling of paddy by rice farmers to millers is a private transaction.  The price of paddy is set by millers and the farmers have to either accept or reject it. Whether millers pay farmers or not is a private matter and Government cannot intervene in settling a private transaction.

The APNU/AFC in Opposition promised to solve these problems and accused the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government of not doing enough in ensuring that farmers receive higher prices and immediate payments.

But what is interesting is that they ignore that the Berbice River Bridge is a privately owned national infrastructure. They proceeded without discussion with the bridge owners, that the toll should be reduced. Why the double standard? If this Government feels it can rightfully intervene in a private business when it comes to the bridge, then why can’t it with the rice farmers? Is there a particular private investor who is being targeted?

Four months have now elapsed since the APNU/AFC took control of Government. It is still relatively early, but four months give us enough signs of what the guiding principles of the APNU/AFC Government are – hoodwinking, hypocrisy and double standards. These, plus an unambiguous footprint of ethnic discrimination, paints a bleak picture of what the future holds for Guyana.

I am saddened what is happening with our rice farmers, many of whom knew that the wild promises made by theAPNU/AFC were empty. Yet, some fell for these lies but are now rewarded with uncertainty and a future of poverty.

Their agents, like Naithram, Turhane Doerga of Alesie Rice and Jinnah Rahaman, went across Guyana and bombarded rice farmers through the media about how better they would be with APNU/AFC, promising them $6000 to $9000 per bag of paddy. All of them are now members of the Guyana Rice Development Board. Charandass who is now an MP and Ramayya who is now an Regional Executive Officer attacked the PPP Government on daily TV broadcasts.

Nagamootoo, Ramjattan and Greenidge joined these charlatans in these empty promises, which included not having to wait for payments. They promised that they would immediately within 100 days of being in Government find new, higher priced markets.

Unfortunately, farmers are still owed more than $1 billion from the last crop and now they are getting an average of less than $2000 per bag of paddy. Many are getting $1500 per bag and there is no indication that they would be paid soon even for the measly small amount they are currently getting. Guyana has lost its most lucrative markets; Venezuela has essentially ended the importation of Guyana’s rice and no one knows how we bungled the Panama market.

Incidentally, cost of production has increased. Farmers must pay more for fertilisers because the Government has stopped the programme that the PPP introduced by importing more than 7000 tons of fertiliser at subsidised price for farmers. This caused the Private Sector to lower its price to meet the competition. Transportation cost has increased. To add salt to the wound, those who made promises to the rice farmers absolutely deny having ever made them, including Nagamootoo. Ramjattan has become silent as President Granger and Ministers Holder and Jordon arrogantly deny that there’s a crisis.

In the meantime, its position with miners is also different as it wants to negotiate how it can add more subsidies to the mining industry. Mining is a Private Sector business, is important and it is commendable that the Government is intervening to bring relief to a vital industry. The PPP Government also provided relief to the mining industry and as such is supportive of such a move.

But where’s the consistency in these policies which speak of a double standard? It must be that the Government will either intervene or not intervene in the Private Sector. Are we therefore, to conclude that as APNU/AFC intervenes in the Berbice River Bridge and in the mining industry but not in the rice industry, it is being preferential and discriminatory?

The APNU/AFC has created a corrosive environment in our country. There is fear among rice farmers that they have been betrayed and that the Government wants to kill the industry, fear among investors that the global public private partnership model for development is rejected by APNU/AFC.  Overall, we fear that instead of good governance, APNU/AFC is guided by hoodwinking, hypocrisy and double standards.

Respectfully, Dr Leslie Ramsammy