Guyana needs a strategic approach for conducting business with the East and West

Dear Editor,

The issue involving the Chinese company Bai Shan Lin, has created the environment for an objective debate to commence on the need for Guyana to develop a strategic approach for conducting business and development engagements with the West, East and the South. There are a number of legitimate issues and concerns which Guyanese have raised in relation to Bai Shan Lin’s operations in the forestry sector in Guyana. Some of those issues include the ‘legality’ of the operations, sustainable logging of forest resources, employment and management of the integration of Chinese immigrants into the Guyanese society at various levels, just to name a few.

It is important to note that Guyana is changing. It is changing from being more of a large-power-distance country to more of a small-power-distance country. This means that the power is shifting from being controlled centrally by those in authority to being more decentralized. However, it seems that the people of Guyana are transitioning faster than the leadership, particularly the political leadership. Consequently, a scenario is emerging in Guyana where the political leadership, for example the government, is more in a large-power-distance mode while the people and to some extent groups, are in a more small-power-distance mode.

Many countries in the East, for example China, are presumed to be more large-power-distance whereas Western countries are presumed to be more small-power-distance. Hence, this to some extent, explains the shift that we have seen in recent times in terms of the Government of Guyana seemingly developing a preference for doing business with countries in the East. One may want to say that it is also due to similarities in ideology and to some extent culture.

We have also seen is a shift in Western interest in Guyana in recent times. For example, we have seen international organizations re-focusing their programmes from an individual country focus, as in the case of Guyana to a more regional focus. Thus, some international organisations have relocated most of their development operations from Guyana to regional offices in the Caribbean. Whether this shift is partially attributed to the large-power-distance and small-power-distance scenario as mentioned above is still to be determined.

Let’s once again look at the issues with Bai Shan Lin. One of the responses to the reaction by Guyanese to their concerns about the company is that this is a case of xenophobia. I think that this is a cursory response to legitimate concerns the Guyanese people have over how their natural resources are being managed and disposed of. Xenophobia is the unreasoned fear of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange. This is not unreasoned fear, there is some fear, but not unreasoned.

There is a huge gap between the culture of the Guyanese and the Chinese; the commonalities are very few, which is a fundamental reason for Chinese immigration to Guyana to be managed carefully. For example, the Chinese are to the extreme end of the high cultural context spectrum while Guyanese are culturally lower context. On the spectrum Guyanese are located somewhere between the English and the North Americans. In the high context culture, social trust, personal relationships and goodwill are important factors for engaging in business whereas in the low context culture, a high value is placed on personal expertise and performance when doing business. There is also the language barrier which makes intercultural communication difficult. There are additional differences between Guyanese and Chinese jurisprudence.

Guyanese are more aligned to the West and Western cultures; we are almost an extension of the West. Many Guyanese were educated in the West or have been taught according to Western principles. We have a British history and are an extension of North America to a large extent through migration. Many family members for Guyanese are in the United States and Canada and to a lesser extent England. Most of our policies are influenced in one way or another by Western policies. Most of our systems, structures, procedures and programmes are developed and implemented based on Western principles; hence we have a natural and understandable Western bias. Even the yardstick that is being used to measure Bai Shan Lin’s business engagement in Guyana may be based on Western principles but that is the reality of the Guyanese people and that is not going to change overnight.

Having stated the above, it is important to note that communication in the East is more implied while in the West it is more expressed. Therefore, the situation which is unfolding with Bai Shan Lin is quite possible. Bai Shan Lin having gotten the approval from the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the support from the Government of Guyana, the interpretation might have been that it was implied that the other licences, from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Go-Invest will follow; of course what higher authority is needed than the government. Hence Bai Shan Lin as an Eastern company commenced its operations while the other documents were presumably being processed. A Western company on the other hand, might have delayed commencing the business venture, until all T’s were crossed and all I’s were dotted, since communication for them, is more expressed. They have to see it in black and white.

The challenge therefore is what is the solution here; there are no simple solutions to this matter at hand; the interest in the matter is now wide ranging. Nevertheless, the Government of Guyana has to recognize that the fears and concerns of Guyanese are legitimate and need to be addressed sensitively and sensibly, in addition to the fact that the country is changing from more large–power-distance to a more small power-distance, and political leaders and various institutions need to evolve with the population in order to accelerate and maintain progress in the country.

Based on research I am doing in this area, as a result of this change, it is highly likely that the courts will see more rights-based cases being brought as has been happening in recent times. Hence this will create the need for a proper constitutional court to be established.

There, urgent need for constitutional changes may also arise as the country shifts in a more small-power-distance direction. With the current constitution, we may see a scenario evolving where as the executive exercises certain powers within the context of the current constitution, these actions will stimulate certain responses from the population and groups within the society, as we are seeing in the case of the Environmental Community Health Organisation (ECHO) in the Bai Shan Lin matter, where the group is threatening to take Bai Shan Lin before the court.

Our monthly public forum ‘I Am Guyana Solutions Tank’ will be focusing its next session on commencing a discussion on ‘Developing a Strategy for Guyana for Doing Business and Development with the West, East, and South.’ This session will be held on the 29th September, 2014 in the Conference Room at the National Library from 17:00 to 19:00 hours and all are invited.

Yours faithfully,

Audreyanna Thomas