President Granger is leaving a scorched earth behind him

May 13, 2020 Letters

Dear Editor,

Ian McDonald’s Sunday column entitled ‘Something rotten in the State’ is that the some in Guyana would “burn the country if only they could be the Kings of the Ashes”; in this, McDonald has glimpsed into the deviant minds of those clinging desperately to power. We are looking at a military strategy described as a ‘scorched-earth policy’ being waged against a hapless civilian population.
The term ‘scorched earth’ comes from Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia. As the Russian army retreated, Tsar Alexander I, ordered the soldiers and citizens to “leave nothing of military or economic value but scorched earth” in the invaders’ path; in this instance, it is our nation’s economy and social fabric. It all began after Granger’s administration fell to a motion of no-confidence on the 21st December 2018. At that time, the economy was starting to feel the ill-effects of the hefty increase in taxation which was causing local businesses to slow or go under, but the inflow of oil-related service companies was providing cushion and alternative employment. Foreign reserves stood at USD 580M, but the sugar industry closure was already hurting foreign currency inflows. As of 12th May 2020, our reserves are lower than our deficit (90B) for the first time in a decade. The bulwark against recession has been burned to the ground and then some.
Guyana Goldfields announced the layoff of 85% of its workforce due to failure to gain approval from Guyana’s Environmental Protection Agency of their Revised Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) permit for underground mining. Exxon announced in April that production at the Payara project, its third development in Guyana, could be postponed due to delays in government approvals and then subsequently shelved it indefinitely. Olendorff has pulled out of Guyana costing 140 jobs, RUSAL is effectively out also and those 500 plus jobs are gone without much hope of return as the aluminum market has tanked. All of these industries were victims of slothful government and inaction. RUSAL executives visited Guyana in March 2019 to explain the precarious nature of the industry; a clear presentation was made and disregarded. Jobs lost are not easily regained and future investment has been made increasingly difficult; Guyana is now a high-risk environment based on the uncertain political climate. The earth has been scorched and the rebuilding made ever-more difficult in the global depression caused by the novel coronavirus.
Granger’s intransigence has scorched our society by pitting us against each other: lawyers are finding it difficult to look judges in the eye, judges who could not ascertain the majority of 65; citizens have seen the weakness of the judiciary exposed and men of God have failed to pronounce on the immorality of attempting to rig an election. In every corner of our life cracks of division have opened up. We have all been singed since 21st December 2018.
The Fiscal Management and Accountability Act prescribes a 1/12th budget allocation; it is anybody’s guess when monies to pay public servants will run out. Granger invented various super salaried jobs for dozens of his army cronies who are paid more than two million dollars per month; will they be given priority when the inevitable cash-crunch comes? Granger has created a loophole by usurping the powers of the Chief Medical Officer with issuance of the Public Health Ordinance which allows the COVID-19 Taskforce unlimited access to the contents of the Treasury. The longer Granger stays in office the more damage will be done. Even the most avid supporters must doubt that Granger can rebuild the economy given his destruction of the healthy one he inherited in 2015. Can Granger lead us over the land he scorched in retreat? I think not.
Something is not only rotten in Guyana but Granger’s actions are downright contemptuous. These actions to destroy the Guyanese economy are not those of right-thinking. The lower-income families all across the nation are the hardest hit by the actions of the old soldiers; that many are APNU/AFC supporters is of no consequence to the military men. The term used is ‘collateral damage’.

Respectfully
Robin Singh

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