A NEW DEVELOPMENTAL PARADIGM IS NEEDED

Sep 26, 2008 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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We have to be careful with our natural resources. We live in an age when many powerful countries and companies whose assets dwarf our Gross Domestic Product are lining up – and succeeding – at gaining access to our natural resources.

All manner of advice has been thrown at our government and because of their inexperience in running a country, because of the lack of ideological conviction, because in many areas they are naïve, the government became gullible and fell for the medicine that was being proposed.

When the PPP first took power, they were told that one could not distribute wealth that was not there.
Never mind rich and powerful families and multinationals had for decades been plundering our resources and shipping the profits out of the country.

The government was told they needed a large cake because a small cake would not do, even if it was equitably divided. They were told that the economy needed to grow and the way for it to grow was through foreign direct investment.

The government fell for rhetoric and established an agency called GOINVEST to seek to attract investment. They got funding from overseas to help with the establishment.

Some investors were, however, already lining up in the forestry sector. Some were there since the days of Hoyte.

The very international community which was advising Guyana to go for broke in encouraging foreign direct investment became alarmed at the threat Asian companies could pose to western interests, particularly in the wood sector.

As such, the advice was tempered. Guyana was then told that what was needed was not just any type of growth, but growth underpinned by sustainable development in which our vast natural resources would be exploited in a measured way, so that they could benefit all generations.

As such four large investments which were lined up never got going since Guyana was told in no uncertain manner that it needed to have environmental regulations in place.

It was a fortuitous development, because soon after the Asian crisis hit. Guyana was lucky that it did not proceed with the investments which, given the financial meltdown that took place, may have seen the investments come to naught in Guyana.

Since then of course, Asia has recovered, China has become a global power and India is shining. Asia is now searching for resources to sustain its economic boom and this is just one of the reasons why scrap iron is fetching some premium prices in global markets.

Russia too has had its share of capitalism and some of its companies have begun to extend their tentacles all seeking natural resources.

We should know better than to simply open our arms to all these foreign multinationals. We should know better because our history is dotted with companies which have come and raped our resources and left very little for the people of this country. We fared no better after independence than before.

Right now we are exporting large quantities of logs. These logs will be processed overseas and earn far more than what Guyana is being paid for them in their raw state. This should not be happening.

We have to take control of our natural resources but not in the way that we did in the past by nationalizing the commanding heights of the economy.

We need to ensure that all the gold, timber, bauxite and diamonds that we have spring from our bowels are used for the benefit of all Guyana and not just for a few rich locals and powerful multinationals.

We need to look closely at just who is benefiting from the plundering of our natural resources. In short, we need a new developmental paradigm.

But please do not expect the PPP to come up with this new framework. The PPP is incapable at this time of removing itself from the bind of the Washington Consensus, the very consensus that has this country’s leadership plugging for a climate change initiative that rewards countries for not exploiting their forests while the more developed countries of the world who are supposed to lead the way in reducing the emission of fossil fuels are not doing enough.

This is the new development mantra. It is saying to the rich countries we will allow you to avoid your responsibilities in reducing greenhouse gases if you pay us for not cutting down our forests. What a disgrace that this is what Guyana has come to.

What a shame that we cannot even find sugar workers to harvest our sugar cane and we are running wild with the idea of producing biodiesel.

Who do you think is going to benefit from this capital intensive industry? Where do you think the technology will come from and who will own it?

When the President queried a recent editorial which spoke about the need for a national development strategy, he missed the point, completely missed the point.

The point was that if years ago, rather than talk and more talk, we had moved towards a national industrial policy so as to harness our value added potential, we would not have had to have been in the position today where we have to ask for a goods only EPA.

Guyana would have been an industrial power and thus not have to be as vulnerable to the volatility of primary commodity prices. We have failed ourselves because we accepted hook, line and sinker what the West wanted.

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