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Guyana at mercy of AFC cake-shop economists

Guyana at mercy of AFC cake-shop economists:

Written by PETER ALLEN
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 02:29
Source: Chronicle

AFC’s so-called economists, Tarron Khemraj and Sasenarine Singh, who are fighting everyday for the post of finance minister, cannot even manage a cake-shop business much less qualify for the finance portfolio.

The AFC talks about all kinds of industrial and social policies and yet their cake-shop economists do not understand that there are enduring and progressive macro-economic indicators in Guyana.

AFC proposes backward macro-economic policies in their manifesto to manage Guyana’s economy. Guyana does not need to go backward, but forward. The AFC’s entire outlook is mired in in-fighting and backwardness.

Perhaps, Sasenarine Singh, if he knows better, should assist Tarron Khemraj to do proper research and analytical thinking. Khemraj is crying about the lack of information on the socio-economic conditions in Guyana, while the information is staring him in the face.

Khemraj arrogantly presents himself as an academic, and yet has no knowledge on how to search for information on Guyana, even to ascertain that government agencies provide numerous pieces of information to the public.

But, in this modern day and age, is it so hard for him to use a simple search engine, such as Google to access a wide range of information? Do these fellows even read the Finance Minister’s Mid-Year reports which are presented to the Guyanese people?

Is Khemraj so foolhardy that he cannot understand that the lack of capacity of the Bureau of Statistics is not the only reason for the non-production of quarterly GDP data?

Khemraj was definitely not focused on his economics class lectures. He should learn how to do homework! At the Bureau of Statistics, factors other than the lack of capacity for no quarterly statistics on GDP include the system of data collection and speed of data accumulation, lags that occur in the production process which impede the accuracy of figures in a shorter period and the difficulty in getting data from businesses in such a short time period.

This AFC so-called economist really needs to do his homework properly and cover all the bases when concluding on the reasons for non-production of quarterly GDP data.

Is this the best economics case that Khemraj and the AFC can make on how to obtain quarterly GDP statistics? Then if that is the case, Guyana is in for serious trouble with the AFC calling the shots.

This AFC impulsive economist claims that the average economic growth rate was small between 2000 and 2010, as he takes issue with the current growth of approximately six percent, but there is something called incremental growth that is critical for small and poor economies.

Also, this wannabe finance minister and cake-shop economist naively excludes the impact of external economic shocks, such as the 2005 and 2006 floods, rising global food and fuel prices in 2008, the removal of EU preferential treatment in 2008 on Guyana’s economy, etc.

More importantly, he ignores the fact that small and vulnerable economies are at the mercy of the World Trade Organization which works to the disadvantage of these poor countries. Can Guyana tolerate that Khemraj who wants to be finance minister of this country does not understand economics 101?

Guyana will feel safe if he manages the small change from the cake-shop business.
FM
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