Dear Editor,
Two headlined articles recently published in the daily newspapers caught my attention. The first was: ‘ECLAC projects 56.4% growth for Guyana.’
The second was: ‘IDB predicts region will suffer economic shock of historic proportions.’
The efficacy of these projections, be they at hemispheric or national level, warrant consideration in the context of Guyana’s prevailing public health crisis brought on by COVID-19 as well as the elections stalemate due to flagrant attempts by elements at GECOM to impose an illegitimate government on the people of Guyana.
No one thus far has doubted that COVID-19 will inflict a devastating blow on the economic, social and financial sectors of Guyana, in the same way it has impacted the economies of other countries of the world.
The first sign of a combined COVID-19 impact together with the prolonged electoral standoff emerged, when de facto Finance Minister Winston Jordan confessed, that with the recent drop in oil prices, the monies earned so far have been “disappointing.”( S/N April 20, 2020)
What raised eyebrows, however, was while Jordan admitted his regime is running low on cash, and will be “reprioritizing use of its financial resources,” it nevertheless managed to cough up G$1 Bln to dismantle and convert the Ocean View Hotel into a COVID-19 treatment facility.
Even more perplexing was Jordan’s announcement that his de facto administration will seek to “access
financial resources from the Natural Resources Fund.”
How Jordan will access these funds at a time when he, is an integral part of the foot-dragging and filibustering tactics of the de facto Granger administration, is anyone’s guess.
In Guyana, thousands are at home as a result of their shuttered places of employment.Without regular earnings they have had to dig into their meagre savings.
The recent announcement by Oldendorff to shutter its operations and to lay off 132 workers coupled with the non- resolution of the industrial dispute at RUSAL is symptomatic of the COVID-19/electoral crisis now gripping the nation.
The situation is further compounded by the precarious situation obtaining in the sugar industry where GuySuCo recorded its lowest production of sugar since the 1940’s. GuySuCo is now looking to government for a ‘cash for payroll’ bailout out which spokespersons of the outgoing coalition administration had earlier boasted “We done with that!”
Meanwhile, residents of interior communities are calling for the cessation of gold mining, they claim that the movement of miners will allow the spread of COVID-19 in their communities
Many workers in the productive sector do not have a bank account, they are usually paid in cash. Consequently, because of COVID-19 and the apparent stagnation of the economy, workers are left to fend for their families or as Guyanese would say ‘To live from hand to mouth.’
The devastating impact of COVID-19 coupled with the prolonged electoral stalemate on the economy is bound to bring, in the long run, increased hardships on the Guyanese people.
And as if drifting blithely along, the uncaring nature of the administration is manifested in its woeful inability to provide relief to the poor and powerless.
The collapse of government’s haphazard distribution of food hampers has been overshadowed by efforts of the PPP/C, whose activists have been distributing protective masks and food hampers to families countywide and across the political divide.
Meanwhile, ‘Team Max Kitchen’ has chipped in by providing daily meals to scores of indigent and homeless persons in Georgetown.
Many Guyanese are not only scared to leave their homes to purchase basic food or medicinal items, to them, it makes no sense doing so since their purchasing power has been significantly diminished.
The deleterious impact of COVID-19 aside, a major factor that has contributed to the economic downturn in the country is the lack of confidence in the APNU+AFC de facto administration and the popular anxiety to see the back of the de facto administration.
In the circumstances, three factors and their combined impact on the economic, financial and social conditions facing the country will usher in further severe economic and social hardships.
These factors combined are the international crash in oil prices; the prolonged electoral stalemate and COVID-19.
As COVID-19 persists, the longer the elections quagmire remains unresolved and as the economy goes into a tailspin ultimately, it is the masses of Guyanese who will suffer.
The answer lies first and foremost in a speedy resolution of the extant electoral crisis brought on the nation by a selfish cabal who have attempted to steal a whole government.
Yours faithfully,
Clement J. Rohee
