Utilizing a Western/foreign developmental model may be ill suited for Guyana’s transformation

Jul 09, 2023 Letters

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Dear Editor,

If all of Guyana’s population was densely concentrated in a particular area, it would be considered a medium size city. But this is not Guyana’s reality. Constituted of a multi-cultural, multi-racial population, sparsely scattered primarily in rural villages along the Atlantic coastline, the country has endured enormous neglect under colonial, and thereafter, over twenty-five years of PNC post-colonial domination. The rural coastal villages, relatively small, and racially distinct, historically experienced limited opportunities for year-round employment. To Guyanese, this a simple fact. Why then is it worthy of mention?

Given the emergence of these ethnically distinct villages, Afro and Indo Guyanese happen to reside side by side, but their social-cultural worldview – weltanschauung – remains relatively autonomous with different economic structures and relations, as well as political allegiances and loyalties. Such population distribution, with its distinct relations of daily existence, present strategic planning, and development dilemmas for the Guyana government.

For the PPP/C’s planning initiatives to succeed, it would be ill advised to utilize a Western/foreign developmental model, especially one with no historical equivalence to Guyana’s multiracial-cultural pluralistic population beset with relations of domination and underdevelopment. As E. F. Schumacher explained in his book, ‘Small Is Beautiful’, “poor countries slip, and are pushed, into the adoption of production methods and consumption standards which destroy the possibilities of self-reliance and self-help. The results are unintentional neocolonialism and hopelessness.”

Today, most developed countries share little similarities with Guyana. Hence, it is crucial for leaders to focus on the types of development befitting to the country’s advancement, and less on what they would like the country to be, or on what other nations with relatively homogeneous populations have done. For example, should the government fashion the type of modernization that integrates current economic relations of production, or pursue one that lures people off the land into wage earning manufacturing jobs? Moreover, what incentives, or arrangements, are necessary to balance the integration of the modernize and traditional economies? The answers lie in the hands of Guyana’s development experts.

To date, the PPP/C government has embarked on several initiatives to develop the country and alleviate the deplorable conditions of colonial exploitation and dependency. Cleary evident in Guyana, the colonial, and early post-colonial PNC administrations, kept infrastructure at a rudimentary level. So, quite understandably, among the developmental tasks to be accomplished, infrastructure ranks uppermost for the PPP/C government.

Some may recall that when British-American covert operations catapulted Burnham into political power, among his first acts was to disband the railway systems left behind by the colonizers.

This he did despite Cheddi Jagan’s plea to keep operationally intact the Enmore to Georgetown portion of the Georgetown to Rosignol railway. In the main, this railway served as the lifeblood of transportation for travelers, and shipment of rice-paddy, rice, other agricultural products, cattle etc., from Rosignol to Georgetown. And, upon return, it carried imported foods and manufactured products from Georgetown to Rosignol.

Indo-Guyanese, the primary shopkeepers and producers of animal, farm and other agricultural products suffered immensely, being forced into securing costly vehicular transportation to and from Georgetown.

Besides disbanding the railway system, the PNC government undertook minimal infrastructural development, concentrating primarily on areas in and around Georgetown, Linden, and a few hinterland projects. The principal beneficiaries were PNC supporters and others who pledged loyalty to Burnham.

Unlike the PNC government, the current PPP/C government considers infrastructural projects including roads, bridges, electricity etc., crucial to development. The modernization of the Berbice, and Demerara bridges, the construction of the road linking Ogle and Georgetown, the installation of sidewalks in Greater Georgetown are but a few examples. In addition, President Irfaan’s commitment to reestablish railway travel in certain parts of the country after the completion of feasibility studies is another indication of planned infrastructural development.

And, plans are underway to erect a refinery in Berbice.

While progress is essential, the government must guard against hastily planned and executed development projects. An example of such project is the Berbice River bridge, the construction of which crippled the economy of New Amsterdam and surrounding areas. Some have questioned the location of the bridge, arguing that it should have stretched from Blairmont to New Amsterdam, which they claim is a shorter span and would have contributed to the growth of both areas. Such perceptions cannot be readily validated given the absence of results from a comprehensive study. What became evident is how a development project can erode the economic foundation of its surrounding areas. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the PPP/C government has focused on the revitalization of New Amsterdam.

Given the distribution of Guyana’s racially pluralistic population, and the varied factors involved when undertaking development projects, the PPP/C government could benefit by being alert to:

(i) the location of projects due to the possibility of widening Guyana’s racial divide through the perception of preferential treatment to Afro or Indo communities; and (ii) the negative impact of the development project on surrounding communities. Failing to consider these factors is likely to serve as fodder for anti-government forces’ racist-propaganda campaigns to discredit the government.

Let us take as a hypothetical example, the location of a Satellite City where Guyanese can readily access government services. To locate it in the predominantly Indo-village Bath, or the predominantly Afro-village Hopetown, would likely heighten distrust/indifference for the government especially by the ethnic sector that disagrees with the location. Hence, selecting Fort Wellington – a known neutral zone – as the location of the Satellite City would offset potential distrust, and eliminate potential negative impact to surrounding communities. In addition, since some government services are already available at this location, these can easily be expanded.

Noteworthy is that the development of a Satellite City at this location would contribute to the decentralization of essential government services which can only be obtained in Georgetown, thus bringing government closer to the people.

For Guyanese, the discovery oil has heightened expectations of development and material comforts. But the income accrued from oil does not accumulate overnight, or in a year, so, prospective spending, or borrowing, must take into consideration projected income, and how it can be utilized effectively. In the effective utilization of surplus, the PPP/C would find it worthy to consider the residuals of colonial, and then PNC’s post-colonial economic, political, and social structures and relations that stymie Guyana’s transformation. These institutional structures contributed to the continued oppression of Guyanese, one that cannot be eradicated simply with income accrued from oil unless the structural relations of colonial type division of wage-labor is transformed into one of sustainable income. Such transformation of wage-labor is unlikely without uniquely developmental planning strategies that economically benefits all sectors of the sparsely scattered rural population.

Regards,

Narayan Persaud, PhD

Professor Emeritus

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• foreign, Guyana, Model, transformation, Western

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