Guyana has lost five years, with a lawless, clueless government

Dec 12, 2019 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

Everybody agrees APNU+AFC betrayed the Guyanese people, not keeping their manifesto promises. In fact, APNU+AFC totally failed to honour the vast majority of their manifesto promises and 100% of their promises for the first 100 days in office. Even David Granger admits as much when he defended APNU+AFC’s failure, by accusing the Leader of the Opposition of waging a “civil war”.
Granger used the most abused excuse for his own failures. Granger’s admission of failure was followed by an official admission from the People’s National Congress (PNC), a party he leads. Last week, in a PNC press conference, it was conceded APNU+AFC failed to implement their manifesto promises, with the clumsy excuse that no political party anywhere is able to keep all their promises. What was ignored is that it was not merely some promises, but virtually all their promises.
The Executive of the PNC, we learnt, is completely proud, satisfied and happy with the APNU+AFC’s record in government since May 2015, regardless of their failures to implement most of their manifesto promises. The PNC is the largest party in the APNU+AFC Coalition, but while APNU+AFC still exists on paper, the truth is that it is another alias for the PNC.
What are APNU+AFC/PNC exactly satisfied with? They broke their promises to families to continue and increase the popular $10,000 per child grant that parents received for every child in school and completely eliminated this safety-net, cash-transfer program.
They broke their promise to retain the water and electricity subsidies to senior citizens, a program designed to keep cash in people’s pockets. They broke their promise to make the old-age pension equal the public sector minimum wage, barely increasing the old age pension from $15,000 per month to just about $20,000 per month.
They broke their promise to increase the income tax threshold to $100,000 per month. They promised free university education, but increased the fees instead. They promised public servants dramatic pay increases, but then told them they must wait their turn. Are these the things they are proud about?
They broke their promise to create more jobs. The PNC should be ashamed, therefore, that they are satisfied that more than 35,000 people lost jobs. The PNC must be ashamed they are satisfied 7,000 sugar workers lost their jobs, 40,000 people in the sugar belt have been impoverished by the APNU+AFC.
Is the PNC bragging that APNU+AFC closed four sugar estates when they had promised not to close any sugar estate, a promise made in their manifesto, vigorously defended in public meetings in 2015 by Granger, Nagamootoo and all senior members of the APNU+AFC?
Are they really proud breaking their promise to give sugar workers an annual wage increase of 20%? Are they proud they froze the sugar workers’ wages at the 2014 level, with zero wage increase for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019? Production routinely now is the worst since before the 1950s. Then they borrowed $30B that nobody can account for. Are they proud that the APNU+AFC Coalition has been the most anti-working class government since Independence?
The PNC’s satisfaction with APNU+AFC’s broken promise to rice farmers to increase price per bag of paddy to $9,000 is disgraceful. Are they satisfied they failed to achieve the 700,000 tons rice production that was the target for 2015, even after 60% of that target was already achieved in the first crop?
Are they proud that rice production has stagnated at the 2014 level? Are they proud Guyana’s export has seen a reduction in rice export and an increase in paddy export? Are they proud that Guyana now has to import rice bran for stock feed? Are they proud that Guyana’s paddy losses to floods and dry weather and to paddy bugs and other pests have increased? Are they proud rice farmers’ cost of production has increased considerably?
Guyana’s debt burden, our albatross in the 1980s and early 1990s, is once again threatening our development. The debt stock of US$1.1B, 44% of the GDP, at the end of 2014, has escalated to US$1.7B, 60% of GDP, as the end of 2019 approaches. This does not include the more than G$85B in overdraft at the Bank of Guyana, which is really a debt, bringing the total debt stock to more than US$2B, right back to 1992.
In 1992, Guyana was essentially bankrupt, with a debt of US$2.1B representing 953% of GDP at the time, with debt payment more than 100% of total earned revenue at the time. The PPP successfully turned this around and by the end of 2014, after the PPP paid off more than US$2B, with debt servicing dropping from more than 100% of total revenues to just about 4% of total revenues.
The PPP also reduced the debt stock to 44% of the GDP, which represented a debt stock of US$1.1B at the end of 2014. In less than five years, the Granger-led APNU+AFC has expanded debt by almost 50% compared with the debt that existed at the end of 2014. Is this what they are satisfied with?
At the end of 2014, there was almost G$25B worth of gold in the Bank of Guyana. It is now almost zero. What have they done with the money? Is this what they are proud of?
At the end of 2014, the total international reserve at the Bank of Guyana was more than US$700M. It is now less than US$400M. Is this what they are satisfied with?
At the end of 2014, the Government’s local currency account at the Bank of Guyana was $21B; today it is negative $85B, meaning APNU+AFC used up the $21B and has borrowed $85B. This is really a loan from the Bank of Guyana. Surely, they cannot be satisfied!
They promised lower taxes in their manifesto. They betrayed people, increasing more than 200 different taxes. They promised to lower the 16% VAT, and although VAT was lowered to 14%, they broadened the items that became VAT-able, including VAT on water and electricity, VAT on internet and computers, etc. All licence fees increased and agriculture land rental and leases have been increased by several hundred percent. In fact, they now collect more than $100B annually than the PPP collected at the end of 2014.
They promised corruption would be eliminated, but Guyana is again among the most corrupt countries in the world. Where is the US$18M Exxon bonus; the one they tried to hide in 2016 until they were exposed? One official said it was used to pay lawyers representing Guyana against Venezuela, while another said it was invested, making money for Guyana.
Sole sourcing now dominates and questionable contracts for medicines, construction, feasibility studies now reek of corruption. The oil contracts show Guyana was sold out. In the meantime, State Lands are being recklessly distributed.
They promised constitutional reform, budgeted and spent more than $200M. But the Parliamentary Standing Constitutional Committee met only once in five years. Nagamootoo, the front-man for reforms, appointed a committee under Nigel Hughes who gave him a report, but nothing has been done.
To itemize all APNU+AFC broken promises is far too many to cover in one article. Yet the PNC is satisfied their creature, APNU+AFC, did a good job.
In fact, Guyana lost five years, with a government that is lawless, clueless, and failed in a manner unimaginable to all those who wished them well.
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

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