Introduction
Today’s column follows-up on 1) my earlier estimation of the value of potentially recoverable stolen public assets and 2) the ticking time-bombs that threaten the survival of sugar and rice.
No-nonsense programme
When a country runs into financial trouble, it turns to the IMF for help, and depending on its level of development and financial health, the IMF gives it a structural adjustment programme to suit.
We’re getting a good dose of negative Guyana news of late and justifiably so – whatever the process requires we have to work through these things; I will spare you the list.
There are, you may be surprised to read this Sunday, more important things than constitutions, the results of elections, the making and unmaking of presidents and the first steps, and missteps, of a brand new government.
Venezuela’s proclamation of its “Atlantic Front” on May 27, which includes all of Guyana’s maritime space, having already maintained since 1962 its fictional claim to two-thirds of Guyana’s land territory, is breathtaking in its audacity.
It is convenient, but properly justified by theme, form and history, to define Guyanese Literature into a number of periods starting from its early beginnings.
“The ultimate strength of our country and our cause will be not in powerful weapons or infinite resources or boundless wealth, but will lie in the unity of our people.”
What a joke! Venezuela, a country facing severe food shortages where people have to make long lines in hopes of finding milk, flour or coffee, has just received an award from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization for its allegedly great success in combating hunger.
A few days ago the London Financial Times carried an interesting commentary on the growing problem that financial institutions in smaller nations such as those in the Caribbean are having in establishing or maintaining a relationship with correspondent banks in North America, Europe or other parts of the developed world.
The new government is going to need to plan wisely and execute efficiently, but of the two I think the actual doing is where the nation has lately been falling way short and is where a huge improvement is essential.
I have a special place in my heart for French Fries but give me a plate full of freshly harvested sweet potatoes that have been converted to oven-fries and I would easily find myself torn.