In view of the universally acknowledged (save for some members of the Government) acceptance that the contract negotiated with ExxonMobil for our oil was very poorly handled by the Government in the person of the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) opined that for all new contracts in the oil sector, the Government should utilise the services of more expert negotiators. On the surface, even though it is clear it is playing “catch up,” the Government appears to have learnt that lesson as it prepares…
Read MoreCategory: Editorials
2017: A challenging year for Guyanese
Even though we are midway through the first month of the new year, the analyses of 2017 are still ongoing. Naturally there will be divergent opinions given the political perspectives with the need to justify the pronouncements. However, from a position of unbiased objectiveness, analysts should find commonality on how profoundly challenging last year was for the Guyanese populace. When all is said and done, the bottom line for the ordinary folk is their bread and butter issue. For them, their analyses will therefore be guided by such. A plethora…
Read MoreFederalism to end ethnic conflict
In the lead-up to our Independence-era ethnic violence, Sir Arthur Lewis considered the Westminster majoritarian political system being bequeathed and asked, “Are we, on counting heads, to conclude that…the Indians of British Guyana may liquidate the Negroes?” More than most of his peers, Lewis appreciated the qualitative difference of ethnic politics from the premises of Liberalism, and his allusion to “liquidation” refers to the deep-seated fears that can be aroused in such polities. Fifty years later, in his column last week, “Ending Ethnic Political Conflict”, Dr Henry Jeffrey alluded to…
Read MoreSliding into Dystopia
The word “Dystopia” was coined in the mid nineteenth century as an antonym to Sir Thomas Moore’s 16th century “utopia”, that place where everything was perfect. In the intervening three hundred years, history, unfortunately had graphically demonstrated that even with the rationality of the Enlightenment in Europe, the human condition could still be made worse by leaders: dystopian. With half of its term behind it, the PNC-led APNU/AFC government has made a mockery of all its high sounding promises in their 2015 Manifesto. Rather than the promised “good life”, citizens…
Read MoreWho speaks for whom?
By Ravi Dev The evident demise of the AFC reminds me of some comments I made back in 2006 about their refusal to break out of the rut established by the PPP and the PNC, purporting to create so-called “multiracial parties” that spoke for all groups in Guyana. Ultimately, all politics is “identity politics,” as we seek to ensure justice and equality according to some criteria of our identity — be it race/ethnicity, gender, religion etc. But, in Guyana, no one wants to openly represent “ethnic/racial” interests, even though that’s…
Read MoreHighway to Brazil
Last week, the Government of Guyana announced grandly: “Construction of the Linden-Lethem road is closer, following the signing of a Complementary Agreement to the Memorandum of Understanding between Guyana and Brazil which created the “Guyana-Brazil Joint Commission to Develop Infrastructure Projects”. Guyanese have heard about a highway to Brazil being built for so long, its origins have been shrouded in the mists of antiquity. There was, of course, the “cow trail” that had been hacked from the Rupununi to Georgetown in the early decades of the last century, to bring…
Read MoreVery little to cheer about
As we approach the end of the year, we will first encounter Christmas – typically characterised by cheer and goodwill. Unfortunately, for most Guyanese, there will be very little to cheer about this year. Being Guyanese, “the show will go on”, but it will be just that – a show that will simply serve to highlight the lives of quiet desperation our people experience on a quotidian basis. The country’s traditional mainstay for centuries, and indeed the raison d’etre for the existence of the country, has been the sugar industry…
Read MoreWhy the secrecy?
After months of denial, the Ministers of Natural Resources and Finance admitted that the Government of Guyana did in fact receive a bonus last year when they signed a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) contract with ExxonMobil. The confession came during the 2018 Budget debate, when a “smoking gun” in the form of the Finance Ministry’s instruction to the Bank of Guyana, (BoG) dated Sept 20, 2016 and headed: “Signing bonus granted by ExxonMobil – Request to open bank account”, was unearthed. At the end of October of this year, social…
Read MoreFailed promises
The 2018 Budget offers an opportunity not only to evaluate the Government’s plans for next year, but signals of its longer-term goals. We can do worse than begin with the sugar industry, which for so long had been the mainstay of the economy, but all the stakeholders concede far-reaching changes had become necessary subsequent to the unilateral jettisoning of the “preferential prices” by Europe a decade ago, reducing them by 36 per cent. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, then in office, attempted to reduce the cost of production of…
Read MoreBudget 2018: False expectations
The 2018 National Budget has been presented and naturally both sides in the National Assembly would be boisterous in stating their analyses. From the Government standpoint, Budget 2018 delivers additional mechanisms for the provision of the ‘good life’ it promised to all. The Opposition has already branded it disastrous and a failure. Over the next few days, the financial gurus would conduct their analyses and pontificate on positives and negatives. While that will be most useful, a casual perusal by the ordinary man can seemingly and somewhat instinctively evoke a…
Read More