Political consensus, investing money in other areas

Oct 02, 2022 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

>>>Encouraging Events, Disturbing Developments<<<

By GHK Lall

Kaieteur News – This Sunday there will be no talk of oil. The Hon. Opposition Leader, Mr. Aubrey Norton, recently shared with an overseas audience that Guyana needs political consensus on large projects (KN September 28). I agree. Mr. Norton also expressed a willingness to work with the PPP Government in this regard. Again, I agree, and support any such movement toward local political togetherness. This is encouraging, and I wish to hear more of that, and for the PPP Government to respond timely and agreeably. For when we don’t hold one head, then we are taken advantage of, our wealth drains away, with nothing to show for it.

Large projects have been a big black hole in this country. There has been an endless number of them, yet we seem to in the same woeful place. Roads, schools, clinics (and other massive things in the making) have all been announced over the years, and they either don’t last as long as they should, or offer the benefits promised, or end up costing much more than was originally set aside. The end result is that the PPP and PNC have both made a living at pointing fingers and laying blame on the heads of each other. Meanwhile, the nation lives with huge public works projects that have either collapsed, or rundown, or go on forever. In terms of the latter, the international airport expansion stands as a case study of outsiders driving through our governmental gaps, and ripping us off joyfully.

Surely, we can’t be this stupid; at least, we ought not to be this negligent. That is, where we allow our lack of political consensus to overpower us, and leave us exposed to any type of exploitation, with foreigners (or locals) making utter fools out of us. Political consensus is urgently needed, and if any political participant is serious about doing their best for this country, then there is no choice. To think or do otherwise would be the equivalent of the treasonous; in my book, it would be. We have lost much time, and wasted many priceless opportunities by being apart for so long. We fool ourselves in thinking that any one group can carry on successfully and sustainedly, especially now that we are faced with new natural resource dynamics and the challenges that flow from those.

Political consensus in Guyana will never be an easy sell, or find ready embrace. Nevertheless, this should not be a showstopper, but something that spurs us to greater effort to get to this state. It is either that we get some kind of political consensus, to some degree; or that we punish (most of us) together, and crumble together.

Also, the Hon. Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, spoke to an overseas audience, but with a different message. Minister Singh insisted that his PPP Government was putting measures in place to focus on other areas of the economy, beside what is deafening the ears of Guyanese currently. Though the Senior Minister did not identify specific areas, it was still encouraging to hear. Unlike other countries blessed with the stuff that comes from the ground or beneath the seas, Guyana has agriculture, forestry, and an abundance of what I will label mineral resources traditional to this country. Additionally, we have vast forests and a diversity of wildlife that could transform this country into a prime ecotourist destination. Money and investment are needed to develop the supporting infrastructure for all the areas that I have pinpointed, plus the others not mentioned.

This is putting our eggs in more than one basket, and we have the avenues through which we can capitalize on such wise and diversified thinking. Guyana does not have to back itself into a corner, one that is prone to volatile market forces, but lay the groundwork to buildup from where we are, and set the stage for an exciting future, from our array of economic sources. Again, we need a nation fully committed heart and soul to get the most out of the many gifts that are ours. Thus, political consensus is not only a no brainer, but there is no other way forward.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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