Dear Editor,
The ideas we have proposed in the paper justifying Unity and Human Development (UHD), can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/18odYmG. As ever, we welcome criticisms and comments. Here, we propose that robust respect for property rights is a key ingredient of long-term national development.
The private property rights of citizens, as guaranteed by the constitution and other laws, must be sacred, and people’s possessions, including their lives and well-being, must be respected, protected and free from expropriation by bandits, special interest groups, and the government itself. Narco-trafficking, money laundering, smuggling and other lawlessness present regular and obviously serious threats to physical security, social stability, business success, and the enjoyment and betterment of life and legally acquired property.
If the physical security of our citizens and investors remains unstable and poor, it will become almost impossible to attract and include the diaspora and a competitively wide array of ethical foreign investors in Guyana’s long-term development. It would also be prohibitively challenging for honest Guyanese at home with new business ideas to undertake the risks of new investments. Our nation will continue to lose critical human capital through migration, new investments will not be made, unemployment rates will continue to rise, and national development will be stagnated. Achieving long-term national development will require, at a minimum, observed laws, credible police reforms, and clear judicial independence. After all, a secure and stable atmosphere is an absolute prerequisite to investment and national development.
Yours faithfully,
Mark DaCosta
Terrence Simon
Tarron Khemraj
