On sovereignty and saviours
You've probably heard it said often, and with some pride: Guyana is an independent sovereign state. From time to time, some people do take this sovereignty seriously. For varied reasons. Sovereign power, like royal authority, is power vested in and exercised by the State. Mr Burnham's People's New Constitution (PNC) of 1980 is bullish on sovereignty. "Guyana is an indivisible, secular, democratic sovereign State in the course of transition from capitalism to socialism and shall be known as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana". O.K., alright, I know the latter now reads and sounds like bad words and will be changed when our wise minds meet their deadlines. But the current Constitution also assures us that "Sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it through their representatives and the democratic organs established by or under this Constitution". Whew! What great news. If you didn't realise it. Well exactly one week ago, last Friday at the Beal Aerospace information forum, I witnessed some Guyanese citizens "exercising their sovereignty" Pan-Africanist/Activist Tom Dalgety, who has pronounced that Guyana is the African "House" that other Guyanese are merely renting, had an earful to offer with regard to the "colonising/conquest" mentality of investors. Tom, a self-avowed Rasta endowed with "Rasta Spirituality" cautioned, to the point of threatening "street" demonstrations, against the Beal Investment. Beal Aerospace was likened to "strangers building forts on our Atlantic Shore", much the same way as in the days that the colonisers ravaged Africa. And there were others demonstrating their rights of "sovereignty." One lady claimed that we bright, bright Guyanese are still regarded as "mudheads", easily duped. Still others became staunch defenders, advocates of turtles, birds and the ecology generally. Next week I'll delve into the intricacies. All I wish to do on this busy Christmas Eve, is to wonder at, then challenge the sincerity of those opposed to investments such as Beal's. Not for a second, think that I'm unmindful of the risks, the potential negatives, the uncertainties associated with such an investment and enterprise. But isn't life itself a calculated risk? Would Edgar Heyligar and Sam Hinds fritter away our assets? Allow me to return to this next week, when you would have settled down more.
Merry Christmas ... 'till next week! 
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