THE ELEPHANT IS SMILING

Sep 15, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Guyana was always too large for the PNC to manage. As early as 1969, Forbes Burnham began to complain that the population of Guyana was far too small for there to be significant development.
Overcome by the pressures of the oil crisis of the early seventies, Burnham began to set aside logic and experiment with the economy. He really did not know what to do, how to deal with the successive problems that he faced and more concerned with ensuring that he could keep the PPP at bay went as far as trying to have a union with St. Vincent and the Grenadines so as to increase his electoral constituency.
In the end, he got neither an enlarged constituency nor a strong economy and was bedeviled to the end by problems in a managing the economy.
In the case of the PPP which was retuned to power, the very opposite is true. That party ensured that Guyana was restored to economic health and is now in its best shape ever. No Guyanese any longer have to fear the nightmares that previous generations endured under the PNC. But despite all the gains, Guyana seems too small for the PPP to manage because with each passing day, the friends of the ruling administration are enriching themselves and are gobbling state contracts, land and state property.
The greatest share of these has found itself into the hands of a small group of individuals most of whom were unknown to the ruling party when the PPP was in the political trenches.
Most of the members of this oligarchy that is reaping the greatest benefits have no direct interest in the ruling party. They have embedded themselves amongst key individuals within the government and are using their influence to acquire more and more property, more and more contracts and cut more and more deals.
With China about to pour billions of dollars into the economy of Guyana, even better days lie ahead for this small band of businessmen who have enjoyed more wealth that they ever in their wildest dreams imagine.
From the way they are proceeding it will eventually come to a situation where Guyana may be too small for these guys. They may end up owning most of what can be owned in Guyana.
In this context, it is extremely disturbing that the main opposition parties contesting the general elections for this year have so far failed to indicate just where they stand in relation to this new oligarchy that has emerged on the basis of cronyism. The PNCR, its creation, APNU, and the Alliance for Change have not yet indicated whether they will respect some of the controversial deals entered into by the government of Guyana.
They have pointed out whether they will revisit some of the scandalous land and property deals orchestrated by the ruling administration. They have also not said what they will do about those individuals who have benefited from nepotism and who have been awarded favored position within key sectors of the economy.
They have also not said whether they will revisit some of the plans of the government and just what they intend to do.
They may be presuming that because certain things are already in black and white that their hands are tied and any future government would be obligated not to nullify some of the existing agreements and deals.
When the PPP came to power in 1992, this was not the position it adopted. True it did not go on a vindictive campaign to repossess lands that have been given out during the PNC regime. But it did call in some of the beneficiary and renegotiate some of the deals.
So where do the opposition parties stand as regards some of the deals that have been made by the ruling administration? Their silence on this matter is deafening, and it may have cost them any chance they had of denying the ruling party a majority.
If they have from early indicated that they would not respect any major deals made during an election year; if they had signaled that they plan to revisit some of the privatizations and other controversial contracts made in recent years; if they had specifically identified these, they could have assured certain investors that they are not anti-investment while curtailing any tendencies which may exist for the ruling party to use the final days of the present term to enrich its friends.
The one billion dollars that China will pour into the economy later this year will not be utilized before the elections, but it has tremendous political capital for the government and they will use this fact to tell the Guyanese people that more investment and more progress will come its way.
This is one base that the opposition failed to cover. The opposition parties should have long signaled that this is an election year and they were not in favour of major foreign powers committing large sums to the economy. The opposition has failed itself and when they lose the elections, they must look only to themselves and their own desire to court the capitalist class as the reason for them keeping silent.
The opposition parties may feel that it is unwise to oppose the funds that China is committing because they feel that all Guyanese will benefit from those funds. But they are not seeing the elephant in the room with the big smile on its face.

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