CONSUMER CONCERNS

Jan 05, 2025 Consumer Concerns, Features / Columnists, News, Waterfalls Magazine

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By PAT DIAL

Kaieteur News- As we move into the New Year 2025, the traditional wish and greeting of “A prosperous New Year”, the nostalgic”Auld Lang Syne” and  New Year Resolutions  now assume  different and more intense meanings in the Renaissance upon which Guyana has embarked.   The Guyanese Renaissance, though having much in common with the European in regards to its freshness and creativity and involvement of ordinary folk, is different in that it has a specific content such as Social, Economic and Political Reform and a specific goal, that is to achieve the Standard of a First World Country no later than the end of the present decade.

The first stimulus to the European Renaissance was the emigration of the Intellectual Classes of the Eastern Roman Empire to Western Europe on the Ottoman Islamic conquest of Constantinople and their infusion of the Greco-Islamic learning and achievements in Science, the Arts and Technology into Western Europe.  In Guyana, on the other hand, its Renaissance is fuelled  by the availability of Oil Revenues resulting from  Guyana joining the league of Oil Producing and Exporting countries.  The Guyanese leadership has carefully studied the pitfalls and the successes of the various comparative Oil Producing countries and is determined to avoid their pitfalls and mistakes in the face of a very strong local and overseas lobby who are preaching the demoralizing message that it is determinist that Guyana must inevitably slide into into those pitfalls and that once there, there is little hope of re-emergence as is widely believed to be the position of Nigeria.

The main disastrous pitfalls are “Resource Curse” or the “Dutch Disease” whereby an Oil Producing country neglects its pre-Oil industry and income earners and allows them to decline while focusing completely on Oil and when Oil Revenues decline as they will do at some time, that country will be beset with widespread suffering.  The second is the temptation of embezzlement of Oil funds and other forms of Corruption;  and the third is splurging the Oil Revenues to the population in the illusion that instant raising of the Standard of Living and development will be achieved.

Guyana is acutely aware of these pitfalls and has been taking effective measures to avoid them: Oil Revenues are being employed as developmental capital in building roads and bridges which allows for movement of goods, services and people throughout the country, expanding Eco-Tourism and opening up the Hinterland Regions for further income-generating activity such as Mining and Agriculture.  Massive investments are being made in Agriculture such as in resuscitating the Sugar Industry, improving the yields and production of the Rice Industry, expanding the Coconut Industry with the introduction of new types of coconuts which produce substantially more water and copra than types presently grown.  Relevant Training, introduction of new crops such as millet, corn and soya, raising the standard of Livestock with the importation improved breeds of cows, sheep and poultry, modernizing the fishing industry with the introduction of inland ponds for the cultivation of fish and prawns and shrimps of various kinds and stimulating deep sea fishing with technical and financial assistance being given to fisherfolk and protection against foreign trawlers illegally fishing in Guyanese waters. Gold, Diamond, bauxite and manganese mining are being expanded.  Exports of non-Oil products have been expanding and even before the exploitation of Oil, Guyana’s growth was 9% to 12%.  The non-Oil sector of the Economy continues to be profitable and is attracting foreign investment, notably in the Hotel and Eco-tourism Industries.  There is therefore no possibility of Guyana neglecting its non-Oil sector and focusing solely on the Oil Sector and falling a victim of the Dutch Disease.

Corruption and embezzlement have been regarded as concomitants of the Oil industries in several Third World countries and Guyana has taken every precautionary measure against this curse enveloping Guyana’s Oil Industry.  A Natural Resources Fund (NRF) on the Norwegian model was established and Parliament and the public have full knowledge of all receipts and expenditure of Oil Revenues and anyone including Ministers of Government who may attempt to subvert or otherwise ignore full transparency will suffer harsh penalties including jail terms.  Guyana has one of the most stringent regimes of protection of Oil Revenues in the world.

The third pitfall is the superficially attractive periodic distribution of the Oil Revenues among the population in the belief that immediate rises in the Standard of Living would occur.  The dangers of such mechanistic splurges are many and disastrous and includes massive inflation undermining the value of the country’s money; work ceasing in the productive areas of the Economy other than Oil;  and very little saving being done to meet contingencies of the present and future.  Fortunately, Guyana has rejected this method of using the Oil Revenues and its vociferous and enthusiastic advocates are fading away.

We will now focus on some of the main elements of the Guyanese Renaissance but will have to be selective since they encompass the whole of the Society.  In the Social sector, Health and Education have begun to experience revolutionary changes and developments.  New state-of -the -art hospitals are being established even in the remoter districts of the Hinterland and they are being equipped with the most modern equipment.  Training of requisite medical personnel is continuous and Health Care workers with various skills are being recruited from abroad.  Treatment at Government Institutions is absolutely free.  In Education, schools are being modernized and new schools are being built in areas which are neglected.  Educational Training is intensive and if all staffing cannot be met, recruitment abroad will be done as necessary.  Children are being assisted with hot meals, uniforms, textbooks and other educational necessities. Salaries are being adjusted upwards and pensions for the aged and disabled are instituted or increased.

An Economic Revolution, other than Oil, is in progress and some elements of this are mentioned above when describing  the activity taken to guard against the Dutch Disease.  One fundamental and pervading factor of the Industrial Revolution is the generation of cheap power and this is being achieved by the Gas to Shore project and the stimulation of the widespread use of solar and wind energy and hydropower,especially in the remoter Hinterland regions.  As pointed out above, Training in new fields, in particular Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being intensified and export trade is being developed, the building of a new port in Berbice to accommodate deep sea vessels would be completed in a year’s time.  That port will immediately be serving the vast area of Northern Brazil.

Political and Judicial Reforms of a fundamental kind are being instituted. Work has already begun on the formulation of a new National Constitution. Electoral corruption and dishonesty which have been the bane of Guyana since its Independence will now be exorcised and this is being achieved by the interest and involvement of the International Community and for the first time,  bringing before the Courts, alleged Electoral riggers.  The Laws are being modernized and archaic laws are being  dropped and the Laws, in general made more human-friendly and functional.  Law court buildings are being made more functional and new ones are being constructed.  More and trained staff is being recruited and the speed with which legal procedures are effectuated and Justice is dispensed are improved.

The Guyana Renaissance is blossoming in the parameters it set for itself and many of the characteristics and standards of the First World have already been achieved.

 (CONSUMER CONCERNS)

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• Constantinople, CONSUMER CONCERNS, Greco-Islamic learning and achievements in Science, PAT DIAL, the Arts and Technology into Western Europe

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