Dear Editor,
For every one step of development taken during the 22-year-old leadership of the PPP/C we have taken two steps backwards. Let’s look at the facts: out of 177 countries, Guyana is ranked 136 in terms of corruption; Guyana is the second most impoverished country in the Caribbean; Guyana has the highest incidence of suicide in the world; in terms of per capita income (this is the average salary earned by Guyanese we are the 2nd poorest in Caricom according to the World Bank; and Guyana has the highest incidence of brain drain in Latin America and the Caribbean – (according to the International Monetary Fund approximately 80% of tertiary educated Guyanese leave Guyana).
When you combine these issues and factor in police criminality, injustice, inadequate public health and education services and limited job opportunities one gets a better picture of how far behind Guyana is and the foxhole we have found ourselves in.
On December 18, 2014 Minister of Housing and Water and Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce (ag) Irfaan Ali appeared on a pre-recorded show titled ‘Political Scope: Housing Perspectives 2014.’ During his interview the Minister made reference to capital expenditure during the 22 years the PPP/C has been in government and highlighted same in 2014 as an example of how much the government cares for Guyanese and has invested to improve the lives of Guyanese. Editor there are a few issues with equating capital expenditure with ‘development’ and care. First the money spent by the government belongs to the people of Guyana not the PPP/C. Much of the private investment we see is profits from the underground economy, primarily gold smuggling and drug trafficking. We all know that one of the easiest ways to launder money from drug trafficking is to invest in business opportunities including concerts, casinos and hotels. Second, most of the money invested came in the form of loans from the Inter-American Development Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, China Development Bank, World Bank, etc, which means that Guyanese may be saddled with paying back this debt for many years to come; and third while economic growth/development is a concern for us all, it is secondary to our concern with higher incomes and greater disposable incomes, personal and community safety, security, debt-free living, improved water and sanitation and self-governance.
While showcasing his statistics the Minister shamelessly went on a self-praise tirade, glorifying himself and the PP/C Government – but for what, I asked myself.
First the PPP/C has set Guyana back decades given the massive corruption, moral decay, suicide rates and brain drain. With economic growth slow, and Guyana being known internally as a major drug transshipment location there has come a serious decline in law, order, social decency and education. The economic growth the Minister so praises is not an extraordinary feat; in fact we should be much better off in terms of income levels and security given all the money (taxes, development loans, private investors, etc) available to this government since 1992.
I was appalled that the Minister did not even once mention or thank all public servants and other professionals who are the real heroes in our quest to advance the minds and prosperity of our people and nation. This gives an insight into his thinking and feelings about the folks who toil on the margins daily; I am willing to bet the Minister that 9/10 of public servants if given an opportunity to leave Guyana or offered better paying and working conditions employment will jump at the opportunity. The Minister and PPP/C Government should note that without the masses there could be no economic progress. In fact economic progress is not some herculean feat, it is expected; and sadly in a country of only approximately 750,000 persons we should have been much better off considering all the investment finance available to the PPP/C post 1992. In fact the issue is not economic progress at all, it is bad governance, corruption, the lack of justice, proliferation of crime and illicit trafficking in narcotics, moral decline and general insecurity felt by most Guyanese that are the issues we are concerned about.
Editor, to equate capital expenditure with development is like saying a family earns more money today than they did 22 years ago so they’re better off. Most Guyanese understand this is far from the truth; increases in capital expenditure or household income do not reflect development, especially when the cost of living has also increased, the quality of life decreased and the threat of injustice is felt daily. One must look more closely at what the money was spent on, how the money was sourced, the cost of accrued benefits and the relevance of the projects financed.
James Carville once the campaign strategist for Bill Clinton coined the phrase, “the economy stupid”; a later variation reads “It’s the economy stupid.” Well the opposite is true for Guyana. So I offer some advice to those who believe Guyanese are only concerned about the economy or that we are better off as a people: it is not the economy stupid.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Archer
