Dear Editor,
It is unfortunate that government has adopted an irrational intolerance for constructive criticism and dialogue with Civil Society. Such dialogue and openness would have been conducive to mutual understanding and appreciation by both sides as this relates to government’s desire to manage the economy and Civil Society’s concerns regarding the choices and their outcomes by government. Sharper criticisms can only mean government’s intransigence and unwillingness to be considerate of issues and recommendations raised by Civil Society, an apparent willingness of Government to callously disregard and engage in outright bullyism of the citizenry as they struggle increasingly to keep up with welfare-retarding policies by the administration.
One of the biggest concerns over the last few years has been the dramatic increase in prices which has sent many Guyanese reeling and pushing the poverty index closer to 50%. A pack of plaintain chips is now $200, a pack of chicken foot, $200, and it’s hard to get a proper breakfast for $500. Milk jumped from $460 to $700 per pack, beef is now $700/$800/lb, and many greens have doubled in price. Mismanagement of government expenditure is often the chief culprit as now apparently clueless government officials implement wholly ill-advised and unsound expenditure programs which trigger bouts of inflation which can go on for years if unchecked. It is now clear that no attention is paid to the impact of Government spending in the economy as this relates to inflation or the welfare of citizens.
In addition to being applied to control inflation, Government expenditure policy must be guided by the need to increase the welfare, particularly incomes, of citizens, through direction of the need for adjustment in public service incomes to ensure that citizens live comfortably and look after their children and dependents, expenditure on public services, and amounts geared toward increasing investment and job creation in the wider economy. Further, Government policy must be careful to avoid crowding out of the private sector as this relates to consumption and availability of resources and goods and services, failure of which can also trigger immense bouts of inflation as excessive government expenditure creates excessive demand with suppliers being unable to meet the new demand.
The administration is asked to consider that its government expenditure embarked on an irrationally explosive track since its return, by 53.1 percent and 27.5 percent in 2022 and 2023 respectively, and that this has been especially responsible for inflation and increasing hardship of many Guyanese. Its share of Non-Oil GDP also increased dramatically from 34.0 percent in 2020 to a mind-boggling 63.0 percent. If it is that the administration is trying to adjust expenditure in line with Total GDP (inclusive of Oil), this will pump massive amounts of unwanted liquidity into the economy. As it assumes a larger share of Non-oil GDP, it effectively crowds out the private sector. But maybe this is not a concern of Government. Also, these massive increases in expenditures have, and are probably the biggest driver of inflation as money filters through the system, further impoverishing fixed income earners and greatly distressing many Guyanese around the country. The numbers themselves pose an anomaly as Non-oil GDP less Government expenditure yields numbers which indicates a contraction in private sector activity, something Government analysts may wish to consider.
The administration is further reminded that the money in the budget does not belong to them. It is taxpayers hard earned money, inclusive of the billions borrowed which have to be repaid, to consider that taxpayers are seeing little or no benefit to them. A total of $593 billion was spent in 2022, with $756 billion budgeted to be spent in 2023, with much of these funds landing into the pockets of contractors. Given the lack of meaningful gains and benefits to society of this spending, this can now appropriately be considered squandering of taxpayers hard earned money. We are now witnessing ‘squandermania’ in full force as government has bought into the nonsensical idea that a bigger budget with bigger government spending is better, always better. But Guyanese continue to ask where the benefit is as they endure the stress of rising prices and having an uncaring government.
Finally, with respect to Mr. Jagdeo and the general administration’s sensitivity to criticism on various sections of the media, I offer some advice: Me mammy used to say, “if you don’t like something, you mustn’t do it”. Don’t read de papers no mo’.
Sincerely,
Craig Sylvester
