Brief analysis of where and why Guyana failed

Jan 16, 2016 Letters

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Dear Editor,
All of Guyana’s most critical development trajectories are heading downwards including population, consumer base and economically functional workforce;  modernisation of economy and market; scientific and technological capabilities; socio-cultural constructions of a nation state; and political process and governance. Political and national consensus is essential. Limited space means that discussion and comment are restricted to some elements.
First, a state enterprise economy in a small market like Guyana is unsustainable and could never succeed.  Political leaders compounded this problem because of failure to make mature political deals, across the aisle, on how to proceed.  If one is faced with restructuring 80% of a state enterprise economy (virtually the entire economy) then strategically the implications are obvious; private sector expansion; democratisation of market power prevents concentration of wealth and inequality, but increases citizens equity ownership; building a new investor class; and modernization of market institutions including, critically, removing institutional voids created by a state enterprise system.
We have witnessed the negative effects of failure in the effort to transform 80 % of the economy. You just cannot, in a multi – ethnic society privatise such a massive undertaking, leave the entire process in the hands of one ethnic group that is not even 50% of the population. This is not only wrong in principle it is wrong in essence, and doomed. The results are there for all to see – a democratically elected PPP could have transformed Guyana after 1992.  Instead however, obsessed and blinded by ethno- political vendetta, it wasted 23 years chasing after destruction of the PNC.  Former PM Sam Hinds hinted at this in his letter (Chronicle, 2/1 /2016). In the process, PPP wasted time and taxpayer’s money by destroying assets created by the PNC. Destroying value created with taxpayer’s money is foolish and wasteful and the electorate should punish political parties who do this.  Further, imprisoned by its communist ideologies the PPP misunderstood that changing a state enterprise economy must be accompanied by deep market reforms and, entangled by corruption, cronyism and nepotism it managed to negatively accelerate the development trajectories. Modernisationof the market and economy have therefore remained largely untouched.
Second, Guyana stagnates at the lowest round of the technological ladder.  More than 25 years ago some of us held the view (see Ceramic Industry Studies: CARICOM –Commonwealth Secretariats) that the entire English Speaking Caribbean with a consumer base of less than 6 million and small labour force could not succeed economically with labour intensive industries.  Nothing has changed. Guyana’s population stagnation compounds this problem. Technological capabilities do not grow overnight since this involves intellectual property, private sector and market activity; education, training and state investment and mobilization; scientific and innovation culture. It will take enormous lifting and investment over several decades to catch up. We have carped on this simply because policy declarations about diversification will change precious little without progressively building technological capabilities and the ambition aimed at the next two higher levels, that is, ‘the efficiency society and the technological society’.  While Guyana muddled along for 50 years, Singapore built its capabilities. By 2013 the World Bank’s World Development Report was that Singapore boasted some 6,000 active scientists per million of its population. The results are stunning; its exports alone are about 2.5 times the real GDP of the entire English Speaking Caribbean, (population roughly the same size).
Third, Guyana’s socio-cultural environment exhibits the most destructive effects of failed leadership, the most difficult to repair, and most of the blame falls on the PPP which managed to take Guyana to a place it has never been. Guyana has fallen apart as a socio-cultural entity, in part because of a false thesis (not necessarily by PPP governments) that each ethnic group should forge its own identity. The results are obvious; no nation building, erosion of national identity, no direction as a nation and no community and commonality of purpose. PPP stepped up race baiting; dumbed down the population, monopolising the political and social space with backward politics and sociology; facilitated a corrupt culture; state directed violence replaced discussion and reason; and apparently, the idea that the less people know the easier to rule them. The reason why America has the best military in the world is not only because it is the best equipped technologically, it is the best trained and educated as well. A dumb population lacks discriminating judgment.
Finally, progress is unsustainable without political consensus on some core areas; the character of the Republic, Constitution and rule of law are taken as given. The other cornerstones are education and training focusing on the sciences, and an economically functional labour force; technological ambition; and the organising philosophy and core principles for the economy and market. These cannot change from one administration to the next since uncertainty is the devil of economic progress.
Ivor Carryl

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