A closed circle at the top monopolizes the nation’s resources

Feb 27, 2015 Letters

---

Dear Editor,
The President of Guyana was caught again talking about 4.5 percent growth, yet close to 40 percent of the population lives in poverty, a marginal decline from 43 percent from a decade ago. Over the last decade of the Jagdeo/Ramotar cabal being in charge, Guyana lived through a period of policy paralysis that drove inequality of opportunities and jobless growth. What we continue to observe under this Jagdeo model is a closed circle at the top that monopolizes the nation’s resources by using custom made public policy to marginalize the majority. Guyana can never develop its human capacity until and unless this process is changed and there is a return of trust by the people in the governance structure. Can the people trust the Jagdeo/Ramotar cabal again to develop the infrastructure, electricity projects, education systems, and the other projects that can act as significant growth and jobs stimulants?
The Jagdeo model has fostered a collection of public policies that were designed to reward the politically connected and penalize those that are deemed to be against the political establishment; a kind of starve and feed mentality. One would find those connected with the ruling elite are well positioned to be offered all the “cushy” projects and jobs, whether they are experienced, qualified and technically competent enough or not.  This policy of nepotism has resulted in many of the billion dollar projects like the ICT Cable Project being bungled to the financial loss of the people and continues to deny Guyana that opportunity to transform into a value added society. In the meantime, the Ramotar regime continues to underserve the real needs of the secondary school systems, the technical institutes and most importantly, the University of Guyana, which continues to result in an army of university graduates, who are under-trained and under-skilled and thus mostly un-fit to compete for the few good jobs available in Guyana.  This has to change!
But we cannot blame the rich if the process and public policies of the Jagdeo/Ramotar decade of destruction encouraged “land grabs” and “Ponzi scheme deals” for a select few. All can remember when the Jagdeo regime retroactively legalized an illegality in the enforcement of the tax laws so that the Sanata Textiles complex can be transferred with a sizable tax holiday to a very close friend of the PPP.  This model of investment has to be revisited by the new Government of Guyana.
In Guyana right now under the PPP Government, according to a World Bank study, “the richest 20 percent of the population controls 50 percent of the income, while the poorest 20 percent only controls four percent”. The Broad Based Alliance (BBA) has to be mindful of this fact, since the poor in Guyana seems to be stuck in uninterrupted poverty while a very insignificant few continue to do drastically better. This state of affairs is setting the foundation for a communal implosion, as more people observe that their Government is deliberately closing off opportunities to them. That is why the new BBA has to outline as a priority, a detailed Land Use Policy that outlines key agrarian reforms, with firm deliverables within a defined period.  The bottom-line must be – “land for the landless”. The poor must secure greater access to land so that they can provide food for their families, build their own homes and use that land to leverage investment capital for themselves to incubate New Business ideas. This model will certainly allow for a greater share of the national pie being more fairly distributed to more people.
Given the capacity constraints Guyana continues to face, and the high unemployment being experienced nationally compared to countries with similar growth rates, the message of the BBA should be that all 74 of the Amerindian villages will be fully demarcated, titles and handed over to the village captains within three years of the assumption of office. Further measures ought to be taken to ensure every single member of the “landless communities” are provided with lands based on set criteria of need. The AFC in 2011 has promised 10 Regional Entrepreneur Parks and 10 Regional Mechanical Workshops in every administrative region.  This model can serve as a great platform for providing land for the landless.
Further, no more should people be allowed to live in rural shanty-towns like Plastic City and Pigeon Island.  This issue has to be urgently addressed. Land must be used as a stimulant for self-employment and for the fostering of economic growth with new jobs with greater human development. It can be done, it must be done!
Sase Singh

---

---