Introduction: “Oil for Cash”
This week’s column addresses the development challenge posed by implementation lags. This is numbered sixth on my list of top-ten challenges, which spending of Guyana’s forecasted Government Take has to navigate, if its anticipated petroleum sector is to succeed in bringing sustained development for the broad mass of Guyanese. Meanwhile, I have been recently swamped with requests for a public response to published comments made on my latest call for oil-financed cash transfers to the Guyanese masses as a fundamental pre-requisite for both efficient and effective spending of the Government’s Take
The truth is, I had intended all along to devote the final part of this Sunday series of columns on Guyana’s coming petroleum sector (started back in September, 2016) to an extended presentation of my vision of a strategic profile for priority spending of Guyana’s expected significant Government Take. I’ll strive to bring forward that discussion somewhat, in order to focus soon on the cash transfers proposal (“oil for cash”), which I had made at Buxton. To avoid others further exposing their motives, I remind readers at this juncture that this is not a new public proposal from me, both as a general prescription for attacking income poverty, as well as a specific proposal related to Guyana’s coming petroleum sector.
At this juncture, I propose addressing the oil for cash transfers proposal, after completing consideration of all the top-ten challenges. I shall, however, attempt to speed that up, by treating the remaining challenges as summarily as I can, without cutting too many corners!