BEING LIKE ALICE IN WONDERLAND!

Why is Guyana not achieving significant economic growth like its counterparts in the Caribbean? Comparatively, with the exception of Trinidad and Tobago which has oil and gas aplenty, Guyana has more natural resources than the rest of the countries in the Caribbean.
This is not just boasting, it is the truth. Guyana is endowed with an abundance of natural resources that if shared equitably among the people, poverty will reduce, but it does not happen that way.
The system is designed so that the masses must be eternally beholden to the government of the day and big businesses, with the former having power and authority over their lives.
Also, the country’s politics is divided along racial lines, which means that when one ethnic leader and party get into office, the spoils go to that ethnic group, thus resulting in the marginalization of the other ethnic group.
This is one of the key features of the national make-up, and successive governments have used it to their political advantage during elections. This has paralyzed their efforts to develop the country in the interest of all.
The government is good at making statements and writing manifestos in every election cycle in order to win votes, but when elected it is not good at making changes or getting things done.
For example, for almost 50 years since independence, both the PNC and PPP governments have spoken about developing the economy and diversifying the country’s products so as not to make it dependent on rice, sugar, bauxite and more recently, gold. But they have failed and the country continues to depend on those same products, albeit bauxite is almost dead, and the rest are experiencing lower prices on the world market.
They have also promised to reduce crime, create jobs, reduce poverty, and end corruption. Today, crime, especially murders and armed robberies have skyrocketed, unemployment among youths is at its highest level and Guyana remains the second most corrupt country in the Western Hemisphere after Haiti.
In fact, murders have increased across the country, particularly in the rural areas, where residents have become victims to unmitigated cruelty more characteristic of the urban centers. The brutal burning to death of 75 year old rice farmer, Mohamed Munir and his 69 year old wife Bibi Jamila of Good Hope on the East Bank of Essequibo have become unbearable to the people.
It is another blow to the government. In 2015, there were more than 130 murders, but the first three and a half months in 2016 have registered 45 murders, yet the government’s priority is on the independence celebrations.
The economy is the key to Guyana’s success and the wellbeing of the people. A strong economy benefits the nation and enhances both its domestic and foreign policy options, but a weak economy leads to fewer jobs, more foreign borrowing, lower salaries, higher level of poverty and an increase in crime.
Currently, the economy is struggling. The sugar industry depends on government subsidies to keep it afloat and the future of rice hangs in the balance due to increased production costs. Very little change has taken place in the agriculture sector since this government came to power. The government must act quickly to improve the economy, and not only focus on the independence celebrations.
According to the Minister of Finance, Guyana ended 2015 with a two percent GDP growth rate which is extremely low to sustain any type of development. But falling oil prices on the world market has helped to cushion the impact of the lower prices for sugar, rice and gold.
The claim by some, including the opposition, that the economy has slowed is true, but the government has done a very good job in the cleaning up of Georgetown and the restoration Merriman’s Mall which was neglected for over a decade by the former administration.
However, it matters where the country is heading and the road the government is taking because no one wants to be like Alice in a Wonderland not knowing when they will get there.