EIA – the latest unwanted guest
Kaieteur News – EIA stands for Economic Impact Assessment, a choking mouthful that is better conveyed through its initials, EIA. A raw attempt at phonetic sounds leads to something coming out over and over like EEEEE-Aye-Aaay. However, given what has been happening with EIAs lately, Guyanese colloquialism of ‘hi yahhh’ (even hi yagaah) best suits, as it transcends what is happening, and the associated concerns overflowing into our environment.
The long and short of the EIA story, is that it is a short improvisation, as it is avoided and ignored. We get the impression that EIAs are being despised, like catching up with work, and simply as much bothering over anything. And for being overly concerned about the welfare of the less endowed. That is, those with less means, less education, less energy, less awareness, and less impact to press on powerful people and shake things up. After all, it is the poorest people who are discussed, involved and affected, and can be counted on to tread the party line when push comes to shove, which means elections.
As we have noted at various times in this paper, we still hear when EIA would make sense, which is not necessary. Not made or necessary for the Rome facility in Agricola; or for a storage facility for hazardous materials by the John Fernandes Group at Plantation Fairfield, Mahaicony; and retreats occurred only after objections from the residents of Peter Hall.
With due regard to the local Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that entity appears to have been reduced to rubber. Clear the road as quickly and quietly as possible, and get the job done with the minimum of bureaucracy and delay. His Excellency President Ali promised something about dismantling onerous regulations. By all means, he has fulfilled that promise extremely well, with watchdog agencies in place for both formality and ceremony. They are rapidly developing a reputation for not biting or bark. In other words, minimum regulation is the way to go, and no regulation is the best of all worlds.
Do not tell those who are in possible harm. They would be those lowly citizens who could benefit from comprehensive and valid EIA results. They have great potential to come out on the lost side of this or that plant, chemical or otherwise. This is common sense, and EIA should be part of standard practice in this society. But we often hear that they are not necessary. The questions we pose to a public that should be scared are: who says that? Are they not necessary? On what authority and vision?
We have the gut feeling that this is what sells well with Exxon and contacts. It is arguable, which is why President Ali distanced himself from the continued presence of one Dr. Vincent Adams, a highly qualified Guyanese, has what it takes to be a pit bull for Guyana. Guyanese understand this better quickly and completely: what the Americans want, the Americans get. By extension, what Exxon wants, it goes too, in this weak country with inferior government, all too willing to vow to the whims and will of Exxon and the rest of that Fortune 500 brigade that fall by themselves to reach the fleshy limbs of Guyana. This is what pleases America.
In the eyes of Exxon, any EPA is unwanted baggage, a presence to be tolerated by graphically ignoring. The company’s fingerprints will never be on any of its dealings with Guyana’s EPA. It’s too slick and sophisticated for such amateur hour misconceptions. But his iron hand around the President and Vice President’s necks leaves red welding and revealing marks. No Guyanese should need a translator from Foreign Affairs, as locals are smart enough to read the signs.
That is exactly how our political leaders in successive governments have behaved with this oil of ours, and its many downstream and related by-products. This PPP / C government has given way to an art form. He has the head of the EPA, who can be kindly compared to our sentinels in the hours when the moon is up. That’s when they go down, like in a restful slumber. The EPA’s downward spiraling is increasingly heard across the wider reaches of Guyana: a plant there, a factory there, and whatever else is currently unknown, wherever likely to generate the least interest and resistance. Not Bel Air or Section “K” and, God forbid, Pradoville. We have one for the EPA and our fellow Guyanese: what about Pradoville for a chemical plant site? It could be a great example of leading from the front.