Dear Editor,
I refer to Hydar Ally’s letter in SN of November 23 titled: ‘Guyana has come a far way.‘ Mr Ally is comparing the state of the economy post-1992 with that of pre-1992, but offers no cogent explanation of what exactly the PPP government did to produce decent growth rates since 1992.
We have to draw a line in the year 1989 when the Cold War ended. In practically all countries practising command-style economics, their economies had all but collapsed – no growth or negative growth. Capital formation had eroded. Schools, roads, water and electrical systems –
practically all infrastructure – had deteriorated or collapsed. After 1989, these countries overnight became free market economies. This is the key and only factor to explain growth. And starting from a low base, growth rates after 1989 looked spectacular.
Mr Ally is claiming credit for what happened after 1989. The reality is that the world had changed. What would have been the case if the PPP had been in government from 1964-1989? The PPP of that period also would have instituted a command economy and the result would have been the same as what the PNC government had produced. Governments everywhere often claim credit for the good performance of the economy even when they did nothing or cannot establish what they did to produce decent growth rates.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Persaud
