Dear Editor,
Many Guyanese deludedly see former president Jagdeo as a good economic steward and as the architect of Guyana’s improved economic fortunes. They are completely wrong. In the 12 years Jagdeo ruled Guyana from 2000 to 2011, Guyana’s GDP growth was 26.77% at an annualized rate of 2.23% per annum. That is a poor performance by any standard. To make matters worse, Mr Jagdeo was a trained economist who worked for years in the highest levels of economic decision-making in Guyana under both the Hoyte and Jagans’ administrations before becoming president.
Mr Jagdeo inherited a creditably performing economy from the Jagans. Cheddi Jagan got an economy from Hoyte that grew at an average of 6.892% in 1991 and 1992. Guyana grew at 7.175% per annum under Cheddi Jagan. The economy was lacklustre under Janet Jagan, growing at 1.707% per annum but she led for just two years. The combined economic performance under the Jagans was an annualized economic growth of 5.30% for the seven years from 1993 to 1999. By comparison, under Mr Jagdeo it was 2.23% per annum. The Jagans were not economists. Mr Jagdeo is. His pitiful 2.23% annualized GDP growth came at the expense of safety, security, transparency and accountability. Guyana’s economy became decidedly more underground, illegal and illegitimate under him. Elitism, oligarchic domination, inequality and plutocracy (power controlled by the wealthy) also flourished under Mr Jagdeo, as did corruption, criminality and wealth redistribution from the many to the few. Whether it was ‘fat cat’ salaries such as those paid at the OP or trillions in contracts to a lucky cabal of contractors, taxes from all benefited the few.
Some have argued that the underground and illegal economy was allowed to flourish under Mr Jagdeo because it camouflaged the poor performance of the legal economy. Obviously, with a poor 2.23% annual GDP growth that policy was a disaster. It is completely wrong for any government to allow an underground economy to flourish even by doing nothing to stop it. Whenever a government takes that step against moralistic reasoning, it must be assured from a detailed cost-benefit analysis that the economic growth would outweigh the societal costs. But Guyana went off the cliff and became a corrupt country. Despite all the big buildings erupting all over Guyana and the Pradoville palaces and malls and hotels, these societal costs are far greater than the visible economic benefits. Crime, corruption, wealth redistribution and criminality never pay economically.
The criminal overlords, bribe-takers, stealers of public property, gun-traffickers, contraband traders, gold smugglers and money launderers spent like never before in Guyana’s history during the Jagdeo era. This runaway spending led to inflation for the ordinary man. Prices for everything are becoming out of reach for the majority while those at the top have no such problem. The cost of living is a nightmare. Inequality was at its peak under Mr Jagdeo and continues under Mr Ramotar, completely destroying Cheddi Jagan’s legacy.
Jagdeo’s big project mentality was another disaster. The Skeldon Sugar Factory is a colossal white elephant and Amaila threatens to dwarf it. Instead of focusing on making small but decisive investments in education, training and skills development, the big project ideology has not only made a mockery of transparency, it has shifted billions of US dollars into a few projects that have benefited a handful of companies and contractors with no tangible benefit for the people of Guyana. It is progress at a destructive price that benefits the few building the project, investing in the project and consulting on it. Berbicians got a new bridge but they cannot afford to cross it and the PPP is attempting to deny those seeking cheaper means from crossing the river. Despite this building craze and infrastructure boom, annualized GDP growth was still only 2.23% under Mr Jagdeo.
Yours faithfully,
M Maxwell
