The opposition APNU wants all to know that it has a viable people-centric development strategy for Guyana with the ultimate objective being a livable income for all.
In a press statement yesterday, APNU stated that Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo recently made a desperate effort to challenge the fact that the party has a development strategy for Guyana. This, it countered, flies in the face of the “reality that over the past two years, month in and month out,” the APNU coalition has been speaking about how it intends to transform the quality of life of Guyanese. It also stated that it considers this intention, “the ultimate development goal of the serious and caring government we intend to be.”
The party sought to make it clear that people are first and at the centre of its development vision. “We see this, i) as our moral obligation as a government to the people of Guyana, ii) as the inalienable human rights of citizens to a high quality of life, and iii), as vital for national social and economic growth and development.”
As such, APNU strove to make it clear that it “totally” rejects the PPP’s “frequent boastful assertion” that progress is measured by the size of budgets, or the number of ribbons cut, or the number of temporary jobs handed out. “As a serious and caring government, we will measure progress by how high people’s quality of life is and how satisfied they feel. For us, no other measurement matters.”
According to the release, the ultimate objective of the party will be to guarantee a livable income for all households, regardless of size, composition, economic circumstance, or location. It promised to guarantee a livable income by “well-designed policies” such as job creation, living wages, wealth creation such as small business development, and a comprehensive social protection system that includes family support and child care, adequate pensions and elderly care, subsidies and waivers such as on mortgages, rents and utilities, and the guaranteeing of food and nutrition security. “We believe we can realise this vision in a matter of a few years – not in the vague and uncertain future the PPP is promising”, it said.
Further, its strategy promises that not only will the citizens share in the country’s economic prosperity, but they will also enjoy their full social and political rights, safe communities, easy access to justice, high-quality health and education, a clean and pleasant environment, and good governance, among other rights and aspirations. Also included in this package was the guarantee that each household will enjoy a livable income and high living standard.
Of course, such a vision for present and future generations of Guyanese requires proper planning and APNU assured that it was fully cognisant of the need to create a robust economy. In this regard, it set out a sampling of what it considers its main areas of focus to be:
A) Maximise the revenues the country earns from its vast oil resources: As a government, the party will work towards implementing a more reasonably phased oil extraction rate to increase profit oil more quickly; negotiate better PSA contract terms for existing projects; carry out robust audits and monitoring of oil companies to ensure nation’s full share of revenue; and enact a prudent Norway-like NRF (National Resource Fund) financial investment strategy.
Reduce financial waste, inefficiencies, and corruption in government spending. The party said it will improve efficiency in government expenditure as high as 70 to 80 per cent in the first few years of government, saving $200 billion and more each year. It holds the view that Guyana can save and benefit more from every dollar spent as the nation currently benefits less than 50 per cent from every dollar the government spends. “Therefore, for every 1 per cent improvement $4 to 5 billion can be gained to spend on the welfare of citizens.”
Expand the non-oil economy: Exports will increase and imports reduced through the development of economic activities where Guyana has or can create a competitive or natural advantage. Examples include the mining of traditional and non-traditional minerals – such as a wider range of bauxite products, copper, rare earths, and other strategic minerals; the commercialisation of non-traditional crops such as corn and soya; the expansion of the rice, fishery and other industries with the scope for growth, and value-added production.
Further, it will remove the obstacles and frustrations of doing business in Guyana, such as “the high cost of electricity, sluggish government bureaucracy, rampant corruption, difficulty in accessing cheap land, difficulty in accessing credit, and unskilled labour force.”
Build infrastructure: It argues here that the PPP’s approach is “haphazard” and just for “maintenance or replacement.” In contrast APNU says it plans to expand and transform the economy in a planned manner.
Examples used were coast-to-hinterland roads, inter-hinterland roads, a network of medium-sized hydroelectricity stations and solar farms, and country-wide Internet access, among other ideas. Also included was improved access to new agriculture lands and mineral and forestry resources, and the creation of new economic hubs away from the coast.
Create dynamic and supportive environment for the prospering of small businesses. This will be done by expanding the micro-and small-business sector “to contribute substantially to creating a vibrant urban and rural economy, raising living standards, and creating wealth and employment.” It envisions that success on this front will require, “as an absolute necessity,” that Guyanese have enough income to be entrepreneurs, investors and consumers, which as a government, it commits to ensuring. The release noted that APNU’s national development plan will be fully designed and managed by a team of economic planners within a proposed Ministry of Finance and Economic Development while asserting that, “In our coalition government, there will be no PPP-styled one-man show grasping at basic and patchy knowledge of economics.
We are confident we can make Guyana one of the best countries to live in for all.”
