The Diaspora must not be underestimated

Oct 28, 2008 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

---

Like Ravi Dev, I too had harboured illusions of the role that the Guyanese Diaspora can play in investment in Guyana. Unlike Dev though, I have since revised my opinion of the Diaspora and am now convinced that this well-intentioned group of Guyanese living overseas can only but play a niche role in our country’s development.
No one should underestimate the value of the contribution that overseas remittances play. This has been estimated at a significant percentage of our country’s Gross National Product.
There is almost no family in Guyana which does not benefit from help from overseas. Just the other day I was in a Mall in downtown Georgetown and saw this young guy dressed in the latest fashions. From head to foot he was bedecked in the brand-name clothing. His jersey was a designer name outfit. He had the latest fad in jeans; his sunshade was another top name brand item and his cap was emblazoned with the Nike logo.
It so happened that he knew me and during our conversation I said that all these designer clothing and accessories that he was sporting must have cost him a fortune.
To my surprise he replied that it did not cost him a cent. Everything, he said, had been sent to him from his relative overseas, down to the K Swiss boots that he had on his feet.
He also told me that he did conductor work on his own bus which was bought by monies sent to him for his relatives who were also sending cash monthly to help pay the mortgage on the new home he and his mom had moved into.
There are many more like this guy who virtually live off the monies that are sent to them by relatives overseas. When you total these up, it sure does reach a staggering amount and just goes to show just how significant overseas remittances play in the lives of Guyanese. I recall many years ago, one Minister of the government publicly indicated that the house she owned was paid for with help from overseas.
We must not therefore underestimate the value of the contributions from Guyanese living abroad. At the same time, we must not assume that this contribution can make a meaningful impact in other spheres and specifically in investment in the economy.
I think the floods of 2005 demonstrated the limitations of Diaspora capital. There were many attempts to mobilise the Diaspora to help in those floods but in the final analysis the contributions that came were insignificant and proved that the Diaspora has its own niche role and that role is to be found in supporting their relatives back home.
To ask the Diaspora to engage in economic investment is to take them out of their niche and to place them in a position that would not yield the anticipated returns.
I do not think that the vast majority of those in the Diaspora are interested in investing in Guyana. Even with the financial crisis hitting America right now, most of them would rather risk their savings in that volatile market than invest it in Guyana which can be even more unstable.
Of course there are a few members of the Diaspora who have huge investments in Guyana. However, the vast majority of those living overseas are not going to come and invest in Guyana and for the simple reason that it right now the investment climate is not right. Let us suppose some Guyanese family living in New York had US$250,000 to invest. Do you think they would want to invest it in Guyana? I do not think so.
Of course, a lot of overseas-based Guyanese have invested in the property markets in Guyana. This has not done our real estate industry any good. In fact, it is primarily these investments done in their names and those of their relatives here that are responsible for the bubble in real estate prices which today is so high. That bubble has to burst some time.
With less money than before to invest, I feel that the majority of overseas-based Guyanese will be less inclined to make additional investments in Guyana. What is there apart from the already overpriced local real estate market to invest in any case? The GPL? GWI? A new bridge across the Demerara River?
Perhaps if the government issued guarantees for the Amaila Falls hydroelectric facility, it could attract some interest. But generally I do not hold much hope for the Diaspora coming to the rescue of Guyana.
What I would like to see happen is for the Diaspora to be more integrated into national life. We recently had a national Sari Pageant. I would have loved to see overseas-based Guyanese invited to be part of that event. I think they would have swept the prizes. I would love to see the Diaspora invited to national sporting championships since there are a number of extremely talented descendants of Guyanese who I feel would distinguish themselves in tournaments and thus help lift local standards.
I am however not seeing much invitations being extended to the Diaspora to send persons to national championships.
If Guyanese hopes to break the insularity that exists between its locally resident and its overseas based Guyanese, if it hopes to extend the role that the Diaspora can play, it should develop a concerted policy of integrating the Diaspora into national life. But such hopes should fall short of high expectations in terms of direct investment.
As everything else, even this has its limitations.

---

---