It does not matter if you are one of the most avowed critics of Cheddi Jagan. It really does not matter if you even think that Jagan and his PPP have used and will continue to use racism to maintain itself in office. What is undeniable is that from the day he entered the political arena in Guyana, Cheddi Jagan attempted – and to a considerable measure succeeded – to implant in our consciousness his overriding concern for the ordinary working person.
It does not matter if you are Guyana’s most rabid Indian nationalist. It does not matter if you feel that you have to support the PPP as a bulwark against PNC/APNU racist excesses. Indeed, it really does not matter if in your opinion the PPP/C has done a wonderful job over these last twenty years. What I am certain of is that you must know that with the Marriott labour contract, the PPP has relinquished an element that went to the heart of Cheddi Jagan’s philosophy!
Regardless of what you may think of Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham, I do not believe that there is more than a mere handful (if so many) of Guyanese who have lived through their regimes and who can conceive of a situation in which they would have allowed the total exclusion of Guyanese labour from a project in Guyana. Their vision simply would not have allowed it and herein lies the problem for those who wish to piggy-back on that vision.
Of course under pressure, and perhaps now realising the political gravamen of their action, coming on the heels of the annual pilgrimage and supplication at Babu John and a possible election, the regime has been thrashing about trying to extricate itself from what must be a major political blunder.
So much so, that at various points in the discourse we have heard that the issue is one of economics, i.e. the Chinese contractors reduced their price as a result of their being allowed to bring their own labour, and that that our workers are not sufficiently skilled.
As an example of the latter we are told that the Chinese workers know how to use a laser spirit level (I bought one of those from Home Depot some five years ago)! Then we have heard that the laziness and/or incompetence of Guyanese workers have led to delays on other projects.
But the greatest of the absurdities was when we were told that to press for Guyanese to be given jobs on projects which, in one way or another they are expected to pay for and which are being done in their own country, was racist!
In “The West on Trial” Jagan claimed that by 1970 the PNC regime had failed to a point where it sought to transfer the blame for its failure to the people by dubbing them not only as lazy: “The people were told that they lacked skills, that they were inefficient and unproductive. Hence, Burnham’s dubbing of 1968 as ‘Efficiency year.’” Much has changed but much has remained the same!
It appears that not even in Africa, where there are a vast number of Chinese projects and droves of Chinese workers, is the Marriott-type scenario a common occurrence. One commentator claimed “It’s widely believed that Chinese companies refuse to hire Africans and bring in all their own workers. The real story is more complicated. I’ve not yet seen a case of a Chinese company in Africa hiring no local workers at all, but the percentage of Chinese and Africans varies widely. Many factors affect this: local labour laws, the work permit regime, enforcement of work permits, the availability of skilled labour and its cost.
In Angola, for example, emerging from decades of civil war, skilled and literate workers are scarce and expensive. Here, Chinese firms find it pays to import workers from China.”
But even in the worst case of Angola it was observed: “Dozens of the more recent China Eximbank financed projects listed at the Angolan Ministry of Finance website give information about Chinese versus Angolan workers, project by project. My calculations from this source, as of 2010, show an average ratio of 54 Angolans to 46 Chinese over 19 separate infrastructure projects. Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) came recently with 140 Chinese and 500 local workers for the Kigali Conference Center. Top International Engineering Co. is here building a new hospital donated by Chinese Government with 35 Chinese and 150 locals, Henan International Cooperation Group for roads with 37 Chinese and 400 local workers” (“China in Africa: The Real Story:” chinaafricarealstory.com).
Taken generally, the skills base in Guyana is not weaker than in Angola, and no one seriously believes that lack of skills here can require the total employment of Chinese labour.
What we have in Guyana is a case of regime permissiveness: when a government has lived too long in the kind of political environment that allows it to believe that it can do almost anything without paying the political price of losing government.
Those who shout racism or venture to claim that this kind of contract can be viewed as a modern expression of the Jagan vision had better understand that the most advanced countries in the world are taking affirmative action to secure employment for their people.
In this respect, we do not have to look further than our huge North American neighbour. Both during the last presidential election and his latest State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out a raft of measures, including various industrial incentives, to bring American jobs back home. Here in Guyana, we appear to be leveraging our people’s jobs to finance a project of extremely questionable value!
Over the years, particularly since Cheddi died, there have been many complaints about regime corruption, lack of vision and incompetence.
However, even if certain evidence points in these directions, these are the normal broad-brush stuff of politics, which can only be properly assessed when a more open and facilitatory environment is established.
However, if there was any doubt about the current direction of the PPP, its action on the Marriott project has indicated quite clearly its rejection of a vital aspect of a national vision bequeathed to it by Cheddi Jagan. The regime thus harassed and cornered, we now hear that the Chinese contractor will be employing Guyanese workers! Unfortunately, this announcement has come too late, for the message has already been received loud and clear.
In other words, the regime has unwittingly shown its hand and as members and supporters stood at Babu John last Sunday and listened to the thunderous praises and exultations of the vision of Cheddi Jagan, more than a few must have been asking themselves “where to PPP?”
henryjeffrey@yahoo.com
