…bread and circus
Nowadays, the IMF tends to be a tad more diplomatic than back in the day when that entity could just come into a country and take over its treasury, like the US did with Haiti back in the 19th century. Maybe it has to do with the fact that when the IMF was done with imposing its “conditionalities” on its loans, the countries all resembled Haiti!! Case in point, of course, being Guyana and its ERP.
But today, the IMF’s become “kinder and gentler”, since it had to intervene in Europe in the last decade. Its officials couldn’t very well treat Europeans like they did Third World natives, could they? And it’d be too obvious for the IMF to go back to its old ways now that China has a toe on its Board. Be that as it may, the IMF team that closed its eyes to gold propping up GDP purely nominally, without doing squat for the people of Guyana, at least had the grace to rap Guyana (and the rest of the Caribbean) for wasting its money on frivolities.
Team members cautioned these countries to spend “better”, not “more” — more specifically on infrastructure, and not on boondoggles. But why should the PNC-led APNU/AFC government need a bevy of third-rate economists from the IMF (you think they send down fellas like Joseph Stiglitz down here??!) to tell them that? Hadn’t the World Bank pointed a decade ago to the need for countries that wanted to pull themselves out of poverty to “band their bellies” and develop infrastructure??
Hadn’t the World Bank given “chapter and verse” to illustrate its recommendation with the success of the Far East?? But why even go that far? Right here in Guyana, the PPP government had succeeded in fostering consistent, balanced growth rates by focusing on infrastructure. And the PPP had left a flurry of projects in the pipelines — the CJIA expansion, the West Demerara Highway, the Brazil-Berbice Highway, etc, etc.
But what did this government do the moment it came in?? Why?? Bread and Circuses, of course!! If you can’t beat them in performance, dazzle them with BS!! Big Independence bash followed by a bigger Jubilee bash complete with a billion-dollar circus stadium that’s already half-eaten by wood ants! Then a big Mash Bash! The biggest infrastructural project of all – Amaila Falls Hydro – was dropped faster than a hot potato. Why? Well, the Govt said it was because GPL would’ve had to pay US0 million annually for the electricity. They forgot to mention that in any case GPL pays this amount for oil for its generators — which it wouldn’t have to run!!
But not to worry. When the country is bankrupt again by the PNC, the PPP will have to bail it out again!
…hogwash
If your Eyewitness wanted proof of the length the Government would go to mamaguy their supporters, it was delivered by the banner headline in their edition of yesterday: “GOLDFIELDS EXPANDING …scores of jobs to be created”. Imagine boasting about “scores” of jobs!! Whatever happened to the 100,000 jobs that they would’ve created when they staunched the “siphoning of billions and billions” by the dastardly PPP?? Oh how low have the mighty (job creation) fallen!! Or has the “siphoning” intensified?
But it gets worse. The goldfield “expansion” is by Aurora Mines – the expatriate company that siphons off 95% of the foreign exchange it earns on its gold production. At this time, that amounts to 150,000 ozs, so we’re talking about more than US$150,000,000 “repatriated” to foreign climes. And what do we get? A measly 5% in royalties and “scores” of jobs!!
And yet this Government would boast about the economy “growing” from gold!!
What actually grew was the BS!!
…alternative facts
On the announcement in the Chronic mentioned above, your Eyewitness would like the PM’s shill to pronounce on whether Bulkan vetted it.
The shill reports to the PM, but Bulkan reports to Pressie himself! Stand down, water boy!!
