This Is Wildness!

Oct 12, 2024 Peeping Tom

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Peeping Tom…

Kaieteur News – The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPPC) is many things. But as time has shown, it is also adept at getting its priorities in exactly the wrong order. Its most recent foray into economic largesse is proof enough: the announcement of a $200,000 cash grant to every household, without first clarifying what, precisely, constitutes a “household.”

In a twist of characteristic irony, this declaration came not from some hushed backroom discussion or a prudent policy analysis, but from the floor of the National Assembly itself. The scene was reminiscent of a magician revealing a rabbit before pulling it out of the hat—only to realize that the hat is still in another room.

As always, the devil resides in the details—details the PPPC has habitually overlooked. It is one thing to announce a grand plan; it is quite another to ensure the practical mechanics are in place. We are now left wondering how exactly the PPPC plans to distribute these grants. Does a household mean a family under one roof? Does it extend to those with the same last name, or perhaps those sharing a post office box or light bill and water bill? These elementary questions appear to have eluded the drafters of the plan. But this government’s propensity for clumsiness makes even these lapses seem like small fries.

This is the same government, after all, that had allocated, in this year’s Budget, a princely sum of $7 billion for cost-of-living relief nearly nine months ago, only to leave it languishing on the shelf while citizens bore the brunt of spiraling prices. One would think that a government with any semblance of foresight would move swiftly to distribute the relief when it is most needed, not when the storm is passing.

Instead, the PPPC waited until the fire had nearly burned itself out before announcing that it had water in reserve. And now, as if trying to make up for its previous inaction, it has tripled down, allocating an additional $60 billion to be unleashed upon an already strained economy within mere weeks.

One can only assume that the PPPC, in its haste, has forgotten that money is not immune to the laws of economics. A sudden influx of cash into a relatively small economy can lead to distortions that reverberate well beyond the intended beneficiaries. As any basic economist will tell you, the dangers of inflation grow in direct proportion to the speed at which money is injected into a market without corresponding production. The PPPC’s approach, however, seems to be founded less on the lessons of economics and more on the principle that if a little is good, a lot must be better.

The timing of these payouts is itself cause for concern. The $60 billion must be distributed quickly—far too quickly to ensure that the funds do not become fodder for corruption or cronyism. Worse yet, the government is likely to throw in another $8 billion for back-pay and salary increases for public servants, summing up to nearly $70 billion that must find its way into the economy within a matter of weeks. The fact that no serious thought appears to have been given to whether the economy can digest this sum without choking is, to put it kindly, troubling. The likelihood of a surge in demand with no immediate increase in supply is high. And when demand outstrips supply, the result is plain: prices rise, and the cost of living, the very thing this plan purports to ease, could grow more burdensome.

Yet, this possibility seems lost on the PPPC. Perhaps it has come to believe that its mere presence can bend the laws of supply and demand. Its confidence in its own rhetoric is commendable, even if it remains divorced from the realities that most Guyanese face. But the public deserves better than economic wizardry performed with a blindfold on.

There are many reasons why people are asking whether this grand economic gesture might be more sleight-of-hand than genuine relief. It is one thing to blame external factors like global commodity prices, a favored excuse of the PPPC. But to ignore the role of domestic policy in exacerbating economic hardship is the height of irresponsibility. In the absence of proper planning, the PPPC’s supposed relief efforts might become little more than the cause of greater hardship. As with any trick that dazzles, there is a moment of revelation when the illusion falters and the audience sees what lies behind the smoke and mirrors.

The question that arises is whether the PPPC has the capacity, or even the willingness, to undertake the level of monitoring necessary to prevent these cash injections from causing further harm. Monitoring inflationary pressures requires a willingness to adjust policies on the fly, to throttle back if the signs of overheating appear. But such flexibility has never been the PPPC’s strong suit. Its record speaks instead of a rigid adherence to its own grandiose schemes, however ill-considered they might prove to be.

Perhaps the most glaring failure here is one of empathy—an inability, or perhaps an unwillingness, to understand what life is like for ordinary citizens who have endured nine months of surging prices without a hint of government relief. The PPPC’s delayed and now oversized response seems more geared towards political optics than to any genuine consideration of how best to help those struggling with the costs of basic necessities. One cannot help but wonder whether these disbursements would have been announced at all had it not been for the ever-present drumbeat of elections.

But timing is not the only failure. The PPPC’s unbridled faith in cash grants as the solution to complex economic woes reveals a shallow understanding of what ails the country. Throwing money at a problem does not fix systemic issues; it merely covers them up until the next round of price hikes exposes the rift anew. Real economic resilience requires investment in production, infrastructure, and long-term stability—none of which can be achieved by cash grants alone, no matter how substantial. Yet, this government, like many before it, prefers to deliver sugar-coated promises, even when the candy is likely to melt before it reaches the hands of those who need it most.

In the end, the PPPC’s latest ‘brainwave’ is less an act of governance and more a performance—a display meant to conjure applause, not results. But governing is not a stage play, and sooner or later, the curtain will come down. When it does, one can only hope that the audience—namely, the people of Guyana—will recognize the act for what it is: a spectacle that dazzles for a moment, but ultimately leaves them with little more than an emptier wallet and a deeper sense of disillusionment.

(This Is Wildness!)

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• confidence, flexibility, influx, PPPC’s, surging, unwillingness

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