Neglecting any Guyanese productive industry is not an option!

Jul 30, 2017 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

In recent times, some groups have been leveling accusations at the Government that sound eerily familiar, like pre-2015 familiar, without a single word change. It’s eerie because they come at you spouting loud, confident accusations against the APNU+AFC Government which, after checking, are always found in an old local newspaper. In short, creativity has gone through the window, and the PPP is now visiting its own sins on this government.
Last week, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman was accused of neglecting the mining industry, and of paying all of his attention to the emerging oil and gas industry, i.e. creation of the sovereign wealth fund, regulations to protect fish life and the general environment, compliance with international regulations, and so on.
We just want to say to every Guyanese that the establishment of a brand new mega industry as complex, as demanding, and as precise as hydrocarbon with sharks in the waters, will demand every waking moment of every day. But we do not have that luxury. The Minister, his peers and his team have been simultaneously managing the performance and needs of existing productive industries and services.
Remember please, that revenue from mining in Guyana had risen to the top of GDP rankings more than four years ago. Gold and diamond mining had replaced agricultural products (rice and sugar) as the chief earners long before 2015. Mining and forestry have been keeping this nation viable, and no right thinking person or government would neglect them for something that is not here as yet. Minister Trotman put it succinctly: “There are lies and then there are statistics”.
As at June 2017, the extractive sector had produced about 318,000 ounces of gold and we’re optimistic that at year end, production will match the numbers forecast at last Budget.
The few new tax measures that were implemented in the first quarter did cause some discomfort among miners, and it was explained that the measures were necessary for leveling the playing field and managing it better. Production figures then fell for a few months, but the entire nation is very grateful that the miners worked past their frustrations, responded to the Ministry’s overtures, and returned to the mines.
To get back to the ‘accusation’ of neglect in favour of emerging oil and gas: won’t doing this be grossly unfair to the mining communities? Won’t it be tantamount to shooting ourselves in the foot, and depriving the nation of the benefits from its best performing sector? Won’t it be like watching that booming sector fall to pieces in the same way that the previous ‘administration’ used to ignore manufacturers and dairy farmers?
Since the 1990s, manufacturers had been asking the PPP for tax concessions; to make importing and exporting (customs) procedures less bureaucratic and costly; to negotiate with other countries, even Suriname, to remove the unexpected demands for this certificate or that letter (non-tariff barriers) from our exporters when their ships arrive at those ports. But they were ignored every time! Today, this government and the manufacturers, through their representative GMSA, are meeting every few weeks to discuss the most effective ways to remove internal and external barriers.
Recall the 2015 ban on Guyana’s greenheart lumber that Britain had instituted. The short version is that the UK Environment Agency had issued a Technical Note to all countries with which that government traded, saying that they had ceased importing greenheart (one of the world’s sturdiest hardwoods) from Guyana, because the wood was grown in ‘unsustainable’ forests that were not properly certified.
The GMSA approached the government early last year asking for intervention, and intervene we did. The Ministers of Business, Natural Resources and Foreign Affairs co-opted all viable diplomatic and technical resources to persuade the United Kingdom’s Environment Agency to lift the ban entirely. That has not been done as yet, but early this year the Agency accepted at least one shipment from Iwokrama, a highly certified Guyanese forest reserve.

PROTECTING OURSELVES FROM THE RESOURCE CURSE
Cursorily, Guyana may not be very vulnerable to the “Dutch Disease” for now because 1) international operators like Exxon prefer to employ seasoned people and Guyanese are now in training, and 2) some industry pundits had indicated two years ago that large scale oil companies generally employ only a small percentage of local workers.
One common Resource Curse that the pundits referenced was the voluntary migration of workers away from rice, sugar and cash crop farming, cattle rearing, auto and heavy duty equipment manufacturing and maintenance to oil-related industries and the hospitality sector which generally booms in an oil economy. This phenomenon is referred to as direct de-industrialization.
One particular admonishment we received was to make extra effort to bolster our manufacturing and export, mining and quarrying, food processing and pharmaceutical industries, and we are listening. Along with protecting our many environments including our forests, we are in the process of restoring those rivers and creeks in interior regions that had been pronounced literally dead as a result of unregulated mining. Some creeks now have just one foot of water when previously they were deep, dark, viable habitats for many species of freshwater fishes.
And they accuse this government of neglect? This is a clear case of visiting their sins on others.
Guyana never was a nation that depended on one product, and we won’t become that once the Coalition has any say. Even in the days when bauxite was king, sugar was queen and rice the prince. Forest exploitation and exportation later came up in the ranking, and recent information tells us that Manganese production should begin in 2019.
Our soils also contain ‘rare earths’. According to www.rareearthtechalliance.com, rare earths are a series of chemical elements found in the Earth’s crust. These are used in many modern technologies including consumer electronics, computers and networks, clean energy, health care, environmental mitigation and national defence. There’s another Guyanese resource to add to kaolin and semi-precious stones.