…in oil
Your Eyewitness thinks it was Eric Williams, the erudite PM of T&T – and not so incidentally an Oxford-Trained historian – who first pointed out the irony that something as “sweet as sugar” could leave such a bitter legacy. Perhaps if he were more of an orthodox Marxist, he would’ve attributed it to the inextricable unity in “pair of opposites”!!
With Guyana inching its way to becoming an oil producing country, there are fears we could see another irony unfolding: something producing so much energy as oil, could lead to lethargy and even stagnation of our economy. And these are quite valid concerns – because the stagnation could produce even darker outcomes.
When oil was being pumped from Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries in the decades after WWI and literally fuelling the spectacular development drive in the West, no one thought about the “stagnation” of the oil producing countries. Hey!! They were only Arabs and natives, right? What’d THEY need development for? The leaders should be satisfied with the pennies to the barrel they were getting for the billions of barrels of oil shipped. Living the high life in London was good enough for them.
Even after the oil producers launched OPEC in the early 1970s to belatedly initiate their “development”, not much happened. It’s only today with oil starting to run out that “diversification” of their economy’s being taken seriously. Will it be a question of being “too little too late”?? But it was after oil was discovered in the North Sea, also in the 1970s that the irony of oil flowing like water – at a solid price – could lead to a stagnation in an already developed economy. It was called “Dutch Disease” because the effects were more pronounced there.
There, the oil revenues weren’t plunked into new industries – upstream or downstream in oil or into completely new businesses – or a Sovereign Wealth Fund for investment that’d bring dividends when the oil ran out. The “easy” money was just spent as it came in, raised standards of living while the average Joe and Josephine didn’t have to do much with their businesses. The motto was “Let the hood times roll!!” So a deformed economy where the oil revenues locomotive weren’t enough to pull the entire economic train was created: Dutch Disease!
Over in Nigeria, the Disease occurred because of corruption. Billions were siphoned off into off-shore bank accounts of politicians and once again new industries weren’t funded to employ the average poor citizen of the country.
And that’s why we should be concerned not only about “local content” – but also of a lack of a strategic plan to diversify our economy.
…in “disciplining”
It can’t get richer than this – Minister of Public Health George Norton going after GHPC’s CEO Michael Khan like a bulldog to “discipline” the latter for an alleged “infraction”!! The same Norton, a senior MINISTER of the Government who repeatedly LIED to Parliament – the forum in the land where the laws are made to keep the rest of US on the straight and narrow – saddles us with an unnecessary $450 MILLION DEBT, receives a slap on the wrist from his Cabinet buddies, yet he insists on crucifying Khan for possibly misinterpreting the income tax laws of Guyana on $4M income??!!
And it’s not even within the remit of Norton to discipline Khan in the first place! Even the GHPC’s audit Norton’s using to go after Khan, specified that action on its recommendations is the responsibility of GHPC’s BOARD. And this body has pronounced that Khan should remain as CEO!!
Maybe Prezzie should now appoint a group of Khan’s colleagues to “investigate” and make recommendations? Like it was for Norton!
…of tinting
Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan inadvertently revealed the irony as to why the campaign to control “tinting” of vehicles has failed.
Permission’s at the discretion of the Minister, who wears rose coloured glasses!!
