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The Story within the Story…Why Guyana should be watching Brazil’s Olympic feat

Aug 07, 2016 News

By Leonard Gildarie
There are many lessons to be learnt in life. We only have to pay attention. On Friday evening, Brazil plunged further into the abyss of no return with the hosting of the 2016 Olympics.
The hosting would be by any means a huge gamble for a country that badly wants its returns. The world famous event would come at a time when the Portuguese-speaking country has sunk over US$4.6B, about US$1.6B over budget, into the games, including the building of stadiums.
The Opening Ceremony was an extravagant affair that showcased Brazil’s famous carnival atmosphere and brought to the fore the real threat of climate change to the world.
But throughout it all, the burning question remained whether it is all worth it.
Brazil is in deep trouble. When it was announced back in 2009 that the country would be hosting the iconic games for the first time in South America, the economy there was booming. But a drop in oil prices and reduced demand for Brazil’s raw materials by China and other big customers, have left the finances tottering.
What have not helped are the accusations of corruption rocking the country’s leadership.
On Thursday, Brazil’s senate committee overwhelmingly voted to recommend a conviction in suspended President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment trial, and that she then be permanently ousted. She is accused of overseeing the use of illegal accounting to misrepresent the country’s true finances.
There have been police and other protests targeting spending for the Olympic Games.
Two months before Friday’s glitzy opening, the Governor of Rio de Janeiro reportedly declared a “state of financial emergency” to secure more funding.
There were other sub-plots in the story…a diffused terror plot, delays in the projects and even threat of Zika, with a number of athletes reportedly opting to stay away.
For the next two weeks, the world would stay glued to the telly…their minds far away from the troubles of the country.
For Guyana, the events of Brazil should be a lesson to be learnt. Yes, the games have only now started. Brazil is our neighbour. We have jointly committed to a number of large scale projects including a mega-hydro electric dam in the Mazaruni and the paving of the Linden/Lethem road. Those projects would be the last thing on Brazil’s mind now.
For Guyana, the lessons to be learnt from the Herculean task of hosting those games have to be taken seriously. We are a relatively young country with an economy that has managed to survive the global financial shocks.
We are now promised oil following a significant discovery last year and a recent confirmation that it was indeed large. It is imperative for our leaders, under the watchful eyes of the Opposition, pay attention to our spending. We have too little resources to waste them on things we don’t need.
We have to find ways to keep the economy ticking. The depressed prices of bauxite and sugar and reported slowdown in consumer spending should make us all the more wary.
We have seen too many examples in the past of monies wasted on projects because we failed to plan properly or get the people’s endorsement. I can count the projects.
We have to tighten our belt and be frugal. Little Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and Angola are all by now classical examples of the dangers of oil reliance and banking too much on the black gold.
We have to steam forward. But we should not be taking giant steps in our baby state.
We have to work to tighten our systems, reduce corruption, and ensure our frontline people are getting the necessary training to deal with the changes that are upon us.
In other words, in these tough times, a conservative approach might not be such a bad idea.
To the credit of this new administration, there have been constant announcements by Cabinet of overseas training and workshops here to increase and enhance our capacity.
In hindsight, it would be hard not to convince even the most casual of observers that Brazil has bitten off more than it can chew.

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