Dear Editor,
Permit my response to former Minister of Finance in the APNU+AFC government, Winston Jordan’s defence of the coalition government’s failure to adopt the Buxton Proposal proposed by Professor Clive Thomas and the WPA. He did so on Brother Kidackie Amsterdam’s Buxton Morning programme on 14th June, 2022.
Mr. Jordan began by stating he is engaging the Buxton Proposal because Dr. David Hinds often raps (my term) the coalition on this matter. Having taken that position he (Jordan) opened himself to shifting narratives. Jordan, in explaining the previous government’s position quickly retreated and said he would state the stand that he personally took on the Buxton proposal at the time. I have no problem with politicians or technocrats who serve in a government after that government is out of power defending or explaining the administration’s position on issues or stand took on a government policy, but in listening to Jordan, his opportunism on the matter is immediately recognizable, which to my mind speaks volumes about his political culture. What I state here is the spirit of my intent – to advance the nation’s political culture.
In Jordan’s stint as Minister of Finance, economic policy issues came under his portfolio. His responsibility was to provide leadership to the government and cabinet on matters like the Buxton Proposal. Listening to him, we are left uninformed whether President David Granger got the benefit of Jordan’s views on the Buxton Proposal either personally, in the cabinet, or at any other forum in the coalition. He leaves us to speculate if the position he expounded on the Buxton Morning Show was formally put or were just casual responses he shared with his colleagues. Jordan stated that the original Buxton Proposal called for an annual payout of US$ 5,000 to every household but did not state at what point in the production process this will apply. He also mentioned that he opposed universal payments to every Guyanese household and argues for targeted transfers from the oil revenues to be paid to the more vulnerable in the society while emphasizing the need for expenditure on education citing the coalition’s efforts in this area. I will not address the accuracy or the merits or lack thereof in Jordon’s positions since my concern and focus is on “political culture”.
Bearing in mind that the proposal came from a member party of the APNU+AFC coalition, one need not be a political or economic expert to see the social/political value of the Buxton Proposal. Mr. Jordan should tell the nation why he did not make contact with the WPA, and Professor Clive Thomas, for clarifications on the Buxton Proposal. He had two years to do so. It was only after the coalition lost power and Jordan was no longer Finance Minister that he began to show interest in the Buxton Proposal. The former minister should say if he ever sought Clive Thomas’s advice or opinion on any economic or financial policy during his tenure. I state he never did and the policy exclusion of the WPA explains the government’s failure to adopt the Buxton Proposal in a timely manner.
Jordan was quick to cite Jagdeo’s criticism/rejection of the WPA proposal but was silent on President Granger’s public declaration of ignorance on universal cash transfers and his de facto practical rejection of the proposal. Another concern is Jordan’s adoption of the approach employed by Granger to sow seeds of confusion on the Buxton Proposal. In making this observation, it will be remiss of me not to acknowledge that Jordan did mention the proposal was for utilizing 10% of the oil revenues. But scrutiny of his presentation will reveal that when he spoke of alternative uses of the oil money, he created the impression that the Buxton Proposal required a 100% use of revenues. He, likewise, did not make clear that the alternative social policies he was advocating could be funded from 90% of the oil revenues after putting aside the 10% for the Buxton Proposal. His deceptive approach was consistent with that of the detractors of the WPA proposal, most of whom created the erroneous impression that the WPA/Clive Thomas proposal was designed to utilize all the oil money on the Buxton Proposal.
I end by complimenting former Finance Minister Winston Jordan for his activism now that he is not in government. Had he the courage he demonstrates now in providing public leadership on social, economic, and political issues his sojourn as minister would have been more beneficial to the coalition and the nation. More to the point, had he done the responsible thing in dealing with the Buxton Proposal, he would still be the finance minister.
Sincerely,
Tacuma Ogunseye
