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September 26,2017 Source

Dear Editor,
Harry Gill announces that the PPP left a vibrant economy to the APNU-AFC Alliance, in his letter Sept, 11 Kaieteur News, I am not in any Office of the Government, but I live in Guyana, longer than Harry Gill has. The economy is reflected in the earnings, social environment and safety of the people. Guyana from British Guiana to 2017 has not had a vibrant economy in the idealistic definition, but we can measure achievements through Governance that has taken us from the colonial stratification of political, economic and cultural dependence to a realization of awakening to our own environment and to its opportunities. What was the PPP’s contribution in those formative pre Independence years?
The PPP came in power in 1992; by the end of 1993 they had a 10 percent Minister, another one that made a ship load of petroleum products disappear and by December 2008, the PPP’s Public Service Minister Dr. Jennifer Westford was telling public servants to “spend wisely because government is in no position to offer year end payout” and that was 16 years after coming into power. Roger Khan of the ‘Troubled-Jagdeo years’ often boasted of paying the Police salary. The PPP did not create a vibrant economy it criminalised the nation, encouraged lawlessness and we have recently witnessed in 2017, they criminalised the police force with irregular and illegal customs of practice, creating alternative criminal authority gangs linked to PPP Big-Wigs that the Police became subjective to.
From the pinnacle of its leadership, in what era of the management of this country could a comparison be made that equals what was done at NBS? The lives of managers Maurice Arjoon, Kent Vincent and Baldeo were turned upside down by a conspiracy of lies. Normalcy, their health and balance callously dashed aside to facilitate Jagdeo breaking the financial laws. Supporters of both APNU-AFC are angered today as to why both Jagdeo and Gopaul are not in prison?
In 2011 the AFC ad reflected the accusation that the PPP were making Civil Contractors of party supporters fishermen, that evidence has become manifest with the consistent collapsed houses across the country, with casualties emerging out of some, and the 2005 floods caused by incompetence posing as efficiency. What vibrant economy destroys public procedures and wellbeing, that a Minister of Health could respond to the fact that more than two thirds of nurses failed their tests, with the directive to let them into the system “They will learn on the job” at the cost of human lives?
We had no vibrant economy under the PPP; we had a nation that descended into all out lawlessness, that depended on remittances from Suriname, Trinidad, North America, Antigua, Venezuela, the UK, Canada etc. Except for Canada, all those countries have become ‘economically tight’ some more that others… most of our opinions from the Business sector on our economy lack a holistic view, and seem to evolve from a perspective from the depth of their own coffers.
New factors have to be taken into consideration, A- That over the past 10 years possibly over 100 thousand Guyanese have applied and received US visitor visas, It’s significant, there is an idea in many Guyanese that one can with smart purchases overseas remake passages invested, with a profit, true, I did some of that in the late 1990’s but we were a few travelling then, in some cases you barely cleared, and we did not shop where the new breed is shopping.
Let’s do the math. Say 10,000 people travelled to the US, at the minimal cost of ticket + travelling money, of $300,000.00 per person, that would be a sum of $300,000,000 G$ off the grass root economy. Look around at the clothes, fragrance & tin stuff stands with Barrel stocks all across the country, and you would recognise a glut of such goods and good bye to much needed remittances, while with decrease sales to boutiques and stores etc. those tickets in less than 1% involved further education courses in the US.
We don’t even benefit from the airfares, because we have no National carrier, and every Bookkeeper will agree that the absence of such finances will reflect further than I’ve indicated. B- In my article at GNNL I have repeated the loss of jobs to modernization. I repeat it again, from the 1900’s onward blue collar Georgetown was supported by waterfront jobs from La Penitence to the GRB, in the late 1970’s there were no less than a thousand souls employed per shift, in a two shift, sometimes, as with GRB with an around the clock system.
The stevedore embodied a formidable earning category. Except for GRB that was destroyed by political arson, the other jobs were lost to modernisation in merchant shipping, the Stevedore is now history.
These Jobs were never replaced. Lack of imagination and any innovative thinking has become a trademark of MP Gill and his colleagues, I will conclude by reminding Gill of the PPP State’s sponsored pirating of text books [ still happening] on more than one occasion parents I knew innocently asked whether books didn’t carry the Index any more, on enquiring why the index was left out from one Pirate printer, he looked at me as if I was crazy and asked “Deh got de book, wuh deh need dem back pages fuh?”
So much for your vibrant PPP economy, based on what, giving away our resources for drawbacks, how do you give away 82% of your forest lands, and promise your fishing waters, is this your vibrant economy MP Gill?. Recently a Caribbean group held a workshop here, directed at young start-up businesses, I was at the work-shop though I realised that their investors were not keen on venture capital for mature pioneering businesses, the fact is, look around, the future businesses of Guyana may very well be owned by Caribbean and other overseas investors willing to work with our innovative/creative people at some reciprocal level, keep it real.


Barrington Braithwaite  

Replies sorted oldest to newest

A good reminder of what the Jagdeo/Ramotar presidencies have done to drive Guyana further into darkness...but it does not tell the whole story.

I have said before that Guyanese history did not start in 1992...so the PNC years seems to have disappeared. This writer must have woken up in 1992.

 

V
VishMahabir posted:

A good reminder of what the Jagdeo/Ramotar presidencies have done to drive Guyana further into darkness...but it does not tell the whole story.

I have said before that Guyanese history did not start in 1992...so the PNC years seems to have disappeared. This writer must have woken up in 1992.

 

That is the new trend in Guyana, their attempt to whitewash the dirty PNC era and to paint Indos as crooks, drug dealers and criminals.

FM
Last edited by Former Member
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

He is certainly not impartial and objective.  He is being very defensive in light of the fact that the current government is doing a poor job with the economy as they have done from 1964 to 1992.

You need to break it up,lumping the good economic times in the 28yrs,doesn't paint a true picture.

hint ... 1964 to Nationalization [a few years after was not bad until the square pegs took over] and after 1985.

Django
Last edited by Django
Django posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

He is certainly not impartial and objective.  He is being very defensive in light of the fact that the current government is doing a poor job with the economy as they have done from 1964 to 1992.

You need to break it up,lumping the good economic times in the 28yrs,doesn't paint a true picture.

hint ... 1964 to Nationalization [a few years after was not bad until the square pegs took over] and after 1985.

Were there good times during the PPP's term in office?

Billy Ram Balgobin
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Django posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

He is certainly not impartial and objective.  He is being very defensive in light of the fact that the current government is doing a poor job with the economy as they have done from 1964 to 1992.

You need to break it up,lumping the good economic times in the 28yrs,doesn't paint a true picture.

hint ... 1964 to Nationalization [a few years after was not bad until the square pegs took over] and after 1985.

Were there good times during the PPP's term in office?

Sure there were.

Django

These jackasses led by slop can boy will pronounce to the people of Guyana that their lives were miserable under the PPP.  But come 2020 the people will get their opportunity to answer this question.  If they agree with slop can carrier then they deserve the punishment under pnc. 

FM

This was  Guyana Economy and it continued until 2015.

 

Parallel Economy


A growing share of economic activity in Guyana took place outside of the official economy in the 1980s. The rise of the socalled parallel market was alarming for several reasons. In general terms, the parallel economy, or black market, was harmful because it indicated that the official economy was not providing enough goods and services, and that a "norm of illegality" existed in Guyana. More specifically, the illegal economy drained talent and initiative from the official economy, deprived the government of tax revenues, and led to inefficient use of resources. In addition, the parallel market was considered a major source of inflation and currency instability.

The size of Guyana's parallel economy was difficult to estimate because illegal traders and businessmen kept a low profile to avoid both foreign currency regulations and taxation. The Financial Times and the Economist both estimated in 1989 that the parallel market carried out between US$50 million and US$100 million worth of business annually. By the higher estimate, the parallel economy was about one-third the size of the official economy. Economist Clive Thomas argued in various studies that the parallel economy ranged from one-half to roughly the same size as the official economy.

The key feature of the illegal economy was foreign currency trading, an activity that arose when the government began restricting legal access to foreign exchange. When it introduced foreign exchange controls in the late 1970s, the government was trying to keep Guyana's balance of payments from worsening by controlling the flow of money and goods to and from the country. The government also had to restrict access to foreign currency in order to maintain an overvalued exchange rate. If Guyanese citizens had had unlimited access to foreign currency, many of them would have bought United States dollars, depleting Guyana's foreign exchange reserves, because of their anticipation of devaluations of the Guyanese dollar.

The restriction on foreign exchange helped maintain the fixed exchange rate but it also created a shortage of foreign currency, making it nearly impossible for individuals and businesses to import essential items (foreign merchants would not accept Guyanese dollars). Street traders filled the gap by supplying much-needed foreign currency; they made a profit by selling foreign currencies at a high price. Thus, the black market exchange rate per United States dollar was about G$60 in early 1989, compared with the official rate of G$33. The Economist reported in mid-1990 that brick-sized stacks of G$100 bills were trading for US$1,000 on Georgetown's America Street, dubbed "Wall Street."

The largest currency traders in the country, known as the Big Six, set the parallel exchange rate on a weekly or daily basis by tracking supply and demand, according to Thomas. There were several sources of the foreign currency supply: illegal exports of gold, diamonds, rice, sugar, shrimp, and furniture; cash remittances from abroad; unrecorded expenditures by tourists and visitors; overinvoicing of imports; and sales of illegal drugs. Demand for foreign currency came primarily from three groups: local producers or retailers needing to import foreign materials or merchandise, investors and savers seeking a safe haven against devaluation of the local currency, and people exchanging local currency because they planned to leave Guyana temporarily or permanently. There was a close relationship between foreign currency trading and other illegal activities such as smuggling, tax evasion, and narcotics sales.

The government responded ambivalently to the parallel market. Official policy restricted illegal economic activity, but in practice, the government often turned a blind eye to the welldeveloped parallel economy. Government attempts to repress the illegal market, as in the early 1980s, were unsuccessful. Guyana's borders were long and unpatrolled, making smuggling relatively easy. In addition, cash remittances from abroad were common, meaning that many people in Guyana had frequent access to foreign currency and could easily trade on the parallel market. Many observers also noted that the government tolerated the parallel market because it provided goods that were restricted but essential. In fact, even state-owned companies traded on the parallel market.

A fundamental shift in policy toward the parallel economy occurred in the late 1980s, when the Hoyte government began stressing the need for a revitalized private sector. To many people in Guyana, as well as in the international financial community, the existing parallel market was the epitome of private sector initiative under difficult conditions. The Hoyte government signaled a measure of agreement with this view in 1989 when it legalized and regulated the parallel foreign currency market. The government's aim was to eliminate the illegal economy by absorbing it into the legal economy.

http://countrystudies.us/guyana/57.htm

Django
Last edited by Django

Economy Postindependence


Guyana achieved political independence in 1966, but economic independence did not immediately follow. Most decisions affecting the economy continued to be made abroad because foreign companies owned most of the agricultural and mining enterprises. Two British companies, Booker McConnell and Jessel Securities, controlled the largest sugar estates and exerted a great deal of influence on the nation. In the early 1970s, the Booker McConnell company alone accounted for almost one-third of Guyana's gross national product (GNP). The company produced 85 percent of Guyana's sugar, employed 13 percent of the work force, and took in 35 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings.

Two other foreign companies dominated the mining sector: the Demerara Bauxite Company (Demba), a subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan); and the Reynolds Bauxite Company, a subsidiary of the Reynolds Metals Company of the United States. Together these firms accounted for 45 percent of the nation's foreign exchange earnings. Foreign companies also controlled the major banks.

The Burnham government, which took office in 1964, saw continued foreign domination of the economy as an obstacle to progress. As economist DeLisle Worrell pointed out, foreign ownership was considered the root cause of local economic difficulties. Emerging nations of the Caribbean region shared this viewpoint, which was supported by a number of arguments. Foreign-owned companies were said to use inappropriate production technologies in the Caribbean. These technologies were capital intensive, rather than labor intensive, because they had been developed for the industrialized world. Thus, local unemployment remained higher than necessary. Furthermore, local economies were geared to producing only primary products (sugar and bauxite in Guyana) rather than value-added products (processed foods and aluminum parts, for example). Guyana sold its inexpensive primary products abroad at world market prices that made local economies vulnerable to international price swings. At the same time, local economies had to import expensive products, such as machinery, because most small, less-developed countries had no manufacturing base.

According to critics of the country's economic system, foreign companies were satisfied with the existing arrangements and had no incentive to develop the local economies. In short, foreign control was stifling regional aspirations. Many people in Caribbean countries, particularly those with left-leaning political sympathies, called for government control of the economies.

The government moved vigorously to take control of the economy. In 1970 Burnham proclaimed Guyana as the world's first "cooperative republic." He said that the country would continue to welcome foreign investors but that the government would own at least 51 percent of any enterprise operating in Guyana. The Burnham government originally planned not to exceed this 51 percent ownership; it wanted majority control of the companies but wanted to maintain foreign management teams and the flow of foreign investment. In practice, however, major foreign companies balked at the idea of shared ownership, and the Burnham government took complete control of the economy, eliminating both foreign ownership and foreign management.

During the 1970s, Guyana nationalized the major companies operating in the country. Demba became a state-owned corporation in 1971. Three years later, the government took over the Reynolds Bauxite Company. The Burnham government then turned its attention to the sugar industry. Some observers say the latter move was largely for political reasons; they say the Burnham government was seeking to extend its base of support among Indo-Guyanese sugar laborers. Guyana nationalized Jessel Securities in 1975 after the company began laying off workers to cut costs. In 1976 the government nationalized the huge Booker McConnell company. By the late 1970s, the government controlled over 80 percent of the economy.

Nationalization of large foreign companies was but one aspect of pervasive government control of economic activity. By the early 1980s, the government had also taken over the bulk of the retailing and distribution systems. It controlled the marketing of all exports, even those few products, such as rice, which were still produced privately. It owned all but two financial institutions and tightly regulated currency exchange. The government controlled prices and even attempted to dictate patterns of consumption by banning a wide range of consumer imports. Local substitutes for even the most basic imports were proposed, such as rice flour for imported wheat flour.

The nationalized economy at first appeared to be performing well. During the early 1970s, world prices of both sugar and bauxite rose, allowing the newly nationalized enterprises to reap sizable profits. Increased government spending helped stimulate the economy, and GDP grew at about 4 percent per year from 1970 to 1975.http://countrystudies.us/guyana/55.htm

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, the world commodity prices that had favored Guyana declined, reversing the earlier gains. Economic output dropped as demand for sugar and bauxite fell. Nonetheless, government spending continued at a high rate, and Guyana was forced to begin borrowing abroad. This pattern of declining GDP, continued high levels of government spending, and foreign borrowing was common throughout Latin America in the 1980s.

Guyana's economic decline grew more acute during the 1980s. Unfavorable world prices were only part of the problem. There were two more basic difficulties: the lack of local managers capable of running the large agricultural and mining enterprises, and the lack of investment in those enterprises as government resources were depleted. Bauxite production, which had dropped from 3 million tons per year in the 1960s to 2 million tons in 1971, fell to 1.3 million tons by 1988. Similarly, sugar production declined from 330,000 tons in 1976 to about 245,000 tons in the mid-1980s, and had declined to 168,000 tons by 1988. Rice production never again reached its 1977 peak of 210,000 tons. By 1988, national output of rice was almost 40 percent lower than in 1977.

The decline in productivity was a serious problem, and the Burnham government's reaction to the downturn aggravated the situation. As export revenues fell, foreign exchange became scarce. Rather than attacking the root of the problem, low domestic output, the government attempted to ration foreign exchange. The government regulated all transactions requiring foreign exchange and severely restricted imports. These controls created their own inefficiencies and shortages. More significantly, tight government control encouraged the growth of a large parallel market. Smugglers brought in illegal imports, and currency traders circumvented government controls on foreign exchange. Although many citizens began working and trading in the parallel economy, many others were leaving the country. An estimated 72,000 Guyanese, almost one-tenth of the population, emigrated between 1976 and 1981. Among those who left the country were many of the most skilled managers and entrepreneurs. Finally, the hostile political orientation of the Burnham government foreclosed the possibility of aid from the United States.

The crisis finally came to a head in the late 1980s because of Guyana's unsustainable foreign debt. As export revenues fell, the government began borrowing abroad to finance the purchase of essential imports. External debt ballooned to US$1.7 billion by 1988, almost six times as large as Guyana's official GDP. Because the government funneled the borrowed money into consumption rather than productive investment, Guyana's economy did not grow out of debt. Instead, the government became increasingly unable to meet its debt obligations. Overdue payments, or arrears, reached a staggering US$1 billion in 1988. Rather than risk a curtailment of all foreign credit (even short-term loans for imported machinery and merchandise), the Hoyte government embarked on an IMF-backed austerity and recovery program. The Economic Reform Program (ERP) introduced in 1988 amounted to a reversal of the statist policies that had dominated Guyana's economy for two decades.

http://countrystudies.us/guyana/55.htm

Django
Django posted:
Drugb posted:

Rass bai djangy, yuh even tek pnc shyte and dawb it in ppp ass. 

That's what you get from the articles,now tell us what kind of Economy Guyana had under the PPP.

Nuff mention of pre 1992 pnc shyte that you trying to pin on ppp.  No specific blame attributed to any political party. The person writing the summary probably didn't even care. 

FM
Drugb posted:
Django posted:
Drugb posted:

Rass bai djangy, yuh even tek pnc shyte and dawb it in ppp ass. 

That's what you get from the articles,now tell us what kind of Economy Guyana had under the PPP.

Nuff mention of pre 1992 pnc shyte that you trying to pin on ppp.  No specific blame attributed to any political party. The person writing the summary probably didn't even care. 

That is what you gather,don't wiggle out,

tell what kind of economy Guyana had under the PPP.

Django
Django posted:
Drugb posted:
Django posted:
Drugb posted:

Rass bai djangy, yuh even tek pnc shyte and dawb it in ppp ass. 

That's what you get from the articles,now tell us what kind of Economy Guyana had under the PPP.

Nuff mention of pre 1992 pnc shyte that you trying to pin on ppp.  No specific blame attributed to any political party. The person writing the summary probably didn't even care. 

That is what you gather,don't wiggle out,

tell what kind of economy Guyana had under the PPP.

Can you point where they mention PPP in the article? I am telling you, you need to wear a respirator when carrying out your duties, the stench is affecting your brain function. 

FM
Drugb posted:
Django posted:
Drugb posted:
Django posted:
Drugb posted:

Rass bai djangy, yuh even tek pnc shyte and dawb it in ppp ass. 

That's what you get from the articles,now tell us what kind of Economy Guyana had under the PPP.

Nuff mention of pre 1992 pnc shyte that you trying to pin on ppp.  No specific blame attributed to any political party. The person writing the summary probably didn't even care. 

That is what you gather,don't wiggle out,

tell what kind of economy Guyana had under the PPP.

Can you point where they mention PPP in the article? I am telling you, you need to wear a respirator when carrying out your duties, the stench is affecting your brain function. 

Dem boys say the slop can has to wear a respirator whenever you rass carry out your porter duties with it.

cain

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