Dear Editor,
Amidst growing concerns, at home and abroad, about the involvement of qualified persons from the diaspora being recruited for jobs in Guyana, and the apparent lack by some Guyanese workers at home, of expertise, skills, ability or just plain common sense to manage and administrate, Guyana’s President David Arthur Granger (Brigadier rtd) has predicted that 2017 will be a better year for Guyanese. He says “things [are] moving slowly forward, but getting better”.
But this prediction is being questioned, especially in light of the fact that up to September this year, just about 50% of the more than $220 billion 2016 budget had been disbursed, while the 2017 budget is due in December 2016. The problem is that it seems there is no proper planning at the micro or even the macro level and even President Granger himself has admitted that work on a National Development Plan is still ongoing.
Another one of the problems of the Granger-led coalition is that of broken promises. It was indicated during the 2015 elections campaign trail and after the coalition victory at the polls on May 11, 2015 that much more attention would be paid to the diaspora, and persons with relevant skills, talent, expertise, experience and qualifications would be recruited or made use of.
All that is evident is that the PNC old boys’ club has been resuscitated with many from the 28 years of PNC mismanagement being placed in key positions that they can’t cope with – a case of round pegs in square holes.
Addressing those gathered at the launch of the recent PNC Congress at Sophia, President Granger indicated that his party would be re-visiting founder/leader Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham’s socialist policies and unrealized development vision. In Guyana, the reaction to that initiative was muted, varied, cautious and sceptical. Be that as it may, President Granger is on a learning curve to being an astute and Machiavellian politician and is at present being seen as too soft on issues that need an iron hand in a velvet glove. Concerns are being raised over his resorting to placing many army buddies in key government positions and several PNC operatives who are past their shelf lives in prominent and sensitive positions. It’s also being said that Minister of State in the Ministry of the Presidency Joe Harmon is too powerful and is really the power behind the throne.
The word on the street, also, is that there needs to be an agency or even a ministry set up to deal with diaspora matters, including recruitment and placement of needed qualified and experienced personnel. As Guyana is poised for an economic takeoff, spearheaded by ExxonMobil’s recent oil finds offshore Guyana, it’s being realized that the brain drain has left Guyana bereft of a certain quality of cerebral operatives, as many who have remained home could do with upgrades, training, exposure and nurturing by those who would have acquired a world vision, metropolitan lifestyle and superior work experience and qualifications, and want to return home to serve.
Instead, even local persons with skills, qualifications, expertise and experience are being overlooked in Guyana for key jobs, as the ubiquitous party card is being seen as the passport to lucrative placements in the public service, on corporate boards and in key sectors of governance. President Granger has to be careful over not being seen as practising partisan politics in the recruitment of suitable people for work in Guyana.
Moreso, when the excuse being touted is that persons are too old or too grey. Well, well, well, what do you know? President Granger is 70 years old and many of his coalition colleagues are nearing the proverbial three score and ten, with some of them already soaring past set ages of retirement.
There was one good indicator that Guyana is willing to clean up the corrupt mess the country had become, with the recent announcement that a Canadian company has been hired to restructure Guyana Power & Light (GPL). Cabinet, during its meeting last Tuesday, September 6, approved a $1.6B contract for the provision of consultancy services for the implementation of a Management Strengthening programme for GPL. The contract was awarded to Manitoba Hydro International Limited.
Meanwhile, the World Bank had, in June, projected that Guyana’s economy would grow four per cent (4%) this year, but had forecast a smaller percentage of growth in the coming years. Guyana’s economy grew three per cent (3%) in 2015 – down from 3.8% in 2014 and 5.2% in 2013. And, according to the bank’s latest forecast, which is subject to change due to global circumstances, Guyana’s economy is expected to grow an additional 3.9% in 2017 and 3.8% in 2018.
Guyana’s Finance Minister Winston Jordan just recently also announced that, for the first half of 2016, the country’s economy grew 2%. And, with a small but steady growth rate, President Granger has stated that the country is doing “quite well”. He argues that the growth is quite sustainable, and things will get better in the coming year.
The President’s optimism is not shared by all in Guyana, especially the small man and woman who are struggling to be real people. Vendors at the market places are being harassed and prevented from earning legal means of livelihood; users of small amounts of ganja are still being targeted, charged and sentenced to jail time; crime seems to be taking more deadly turns, despite statistics that say otherwise and there is a general disquiet in the society that ‘money nah run’.
Maybe, it’s because the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is in town and drug barons have to keep their heads down. Money laundering is drying up as high rollers stash their cash or find means and ways to spirit it out of the country.
Then, there is the PPP Opposition Leader who has been playing the role of defender of the masses’ interests with an ethnically divisive rhetoric at home and abroad.
When all is said and done, many Guyanese breathed a sigh of relief when, in its first major strike to stamp out lawlessness and regain control of the forestry sector, the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) last week announced that it is moving to repossess over 600,000 hectares from Baishanlin International Forest Development Inc, a Chinese logging company that has been under fire for its operations in Guyana.
At the end of the day, what is evident is that more attention has to be paid towards encouraging individuals, companies and corporations from the diaspora to invest in Guyana and to contribute in whatever way to the development of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Ras Leon Saul
