The Story within the Story…The 50th: A golden opportunity was squandered

May 29, 2016 News

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By Leonard Gildarie 
If there was ever a lesson to be learnt by the people of this country, it would come from the last year.

Not only did Guyana see a new administration in place after more than two decades, but most definitely a change came. Was it for the better? That is the million-dollar question. I believe so.
I believe that this new administration underestimated the amount of work that came with the office. The scrutiny on the coalition’s performance and every move has been much, much more than what prevailed for the PPP/C, in my estimation. Their every move is being watched and judged. The media has been keeping the pressure on.
There were promises made. Quite a few have been delivered, like Local Government Elections and a small reduction in the Berbice Bridge tolls. However, a VAT reduction and tax review is still to happen. So too is the establishment of a Public Procurement Commission.
I would love to see more money for our teachers and nurses and public servants. The people have been calling for former Government officials who abused their offices and cost this country billions to be charged. The forensic audits are finding that systems have been manipulated with few answers as to why.
There was a massive cleanup of the city and one cannot help but marvel at the Stabroek Market area, yet worry about the lives that have been affected.
I have been writing about housing schemes for a number of years now. My experiences and what I learnt from other new home owners have been an eye-opener. There is no doubt that many families yearn to own their own homes. The reality is that not all will be able to, for a simple reason – the lending institutions will not qualify them.
Many of them ended up in schemes where the infrastructure was unfinished and bushes, thieves and scampish contractors had a field day.
The very real issues of finding new schools, dealing with transportation, places to shop and mortgages, have hit home hard. I could not own a home without a mortgage. But it was an experience that left a heavy weight on my shoulders.
I see many families who realize that the money is barely enough to pay the mortgages with little left for essentials like food and utilities. Take a walk in the new housing schemes and you will find thousands of single parents who are finding it hard to make ends meet.
I am learning now that the financial institutions are recording a spike in the number of defaulting mortgages, a worrying sign. The housing sector has slowed considerably, as just a few hundred house lots have been distributed over the last 12 months of the new government. There is clear evidence that the sector is on a downturn.
Rice, despite bountiful yields and poor prices, has been attempting to right itself after the devastating loss of the Venezuela market, after that country decided to end the PetroCaribe trading relations with Guyana.
I have learnt that markets have been found for the surplus rice we have, and there are a number of agreements to be closed.
Gold has recovered and is holding steady at over US$1200 per ounce, with declarations exceeding expectations. However, there is no doubt that the economy has slowed.
There are a number of reasons for this. Commodity prices on the world market have fallen. The clamping down on the drug trade and other illegal activities like smuggling has affected spending. The shows at the National Stadium, which had helped boost spending, have become infrequent.
There is tremendous cash in the system, but people have become frugal, with expansions of businesses delayed because of waning confidence.
This administration will have to, in addition to finding ways to bringing new investments, come up with initiative to place more money in the people’s hands.
This past week, thousands of Guyanese from the diaspora made the trek home for the Jubilee celebrations. For many of them, it would have been the first time in decades.
A clean city, packed hotels and crazy shopping for memorabilia of Guyana to take back home is but clear evidence that we have a potentially huge market overseas in our diaspora to tap into for not only tourism, but investments. The trick will be for us to learn to sustain the product we have presented to the world over the last few days.
Other developments stuck out at me like a sore thumb.
The first one is that Venezuela has sealed a deal with Trinidad and Tobago for food in exchange of oil. Venezuela’s problem is that the government strayed off course. It lost focus, and instead of courting some of the biggest trading partners, right in the region…yes, you heard it right – Guyana – it decided to take the bully route.
Based on what Venezuela has been ventilating, one cannot but help conclude that the leaders of that country wanted a distraction and found Guyana an easy prey.
Venezuela gambled badly and lost, and now its people are paying the price with long lines for food, as its oil-dependent economy has seen record inflation amidst a fall in world prices.
It would be a feather in the cap of Guyana’s Ambassador, Cheryl Miles, if she manages to hammer a trade deal. Guyana needs the market and Venezuela is in critical need of our rice and other foods.
I could not help but feel deep disappointment also at the walkout by Opposition parliamentarians from the flag-raising ceremony last Wednesday night at D’Urban Park.
I have said it before and will say it again…we need a strong opposition that is responsible. A good opposition keeps the Government in check.
We had one of the biggest stages to showcase our country. The world was watching. Thousands of Guyanese are here. It was the perfect opportunity. We shot ourselves in the foot for failing, for a few hours, to show we love this country; that we are patriotic.
There is no amount of defence or posturing to explain the photos which saw three former Presidents seated. The fact that a few MPs were left standing cannot be used as a reason for the walkout.
We have finished 50 years as an independent country.  It would have been an opportunity to really send a message to the rest of the world that, differences aside, we were ready to put country first.
I could not help reflect on this as I sat in my car on Friday and listened to a young Guyanese, Poonam Singh, offer a rendition of “G.U.Y.A.NA.” The video is terrific. The song is sure to be a hit. I have watched Poonam evolve from the GTT Jingles.
There is a lesson that can be learnt from the song and the singer.

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