Dear Editor,
Craig Sylvester (writing in GT Sep 23) has called for the firing of the Bank of Guyana Governor Dr Gobin Ganga and his replacement by one Terrence Smith who, Sylvester claims, is US based with 12 years experience working for the Federal Reserve.
Sylvester has not advanced any credible economic reasons why the Governor should be replaced by a PNC appointee. But clearly, Dr Gobin has more experience than Terrence Smith in banking. Sylvester makes allegations that are not factual and also penned contradictory statements.
Sylvester claims Dr Gobin is a political appointee of the PPP. The record would show that Dr Gobin joined the bank as a professional; he is a trained economist and does not owe his rise to politics.
In fact, politics has kept back his long overdue rise to the top position. Dr Gobin rose through the rank becoming deputy Governor and then Governor. He served in lower positions in the bank even though he was more academically qualified than his predecessors; ethnic politics stymied his rise.
The position of Governor is based on seniority within the bank. Dr Gobin was the highest ranking officer at the time of the vacancy brought about through mandatory age retirement of his predecessor. As Deputy Governor, he was directly next in line for the position and as such not a political appointee.
Even Sylvester acknowledges the fact that Dr Gobin “rose through the banking system”. Why then attack him as a political appointee when he is not?
Is Dr Gobin a political appointee because of his ethnicity?
Does Sylvester want Dr Gobin out of the BoG because of his ethnicity?
Won’t replacing Dr Gobin with Terrence Smith be political – won’t Smith be a political appointee since he has no link with BoG or banking in Guyana?
And in light of cries of ethnic cleansing and racial discrimination since the change in ethnic regime, is Sylvester not concerned about replacing another Indian in a high profile position with a non-Indian perceived to be a supporter of the PNC?
Sylvester’s proposal is similar to what transpired in Guyana in 1965 when the PPP government was replaced with the PNC regime. Indians, Chinese and Portuguese in high profile positions were replaced by PNC supporters. We know what happened to the country during that period. Are we on course for a repeat?
Sylvester also claims that PPP deliberately underdeveloped the public sector. The record would show otherwise. More funds were expended in the public sector during the PPP regime than under the PNC dictatorship.
The PPP ended the IMF freeze on hiring in the public sector. Hundreds were hired. So the PPP grew the public sector that it inherited from the dictatorship.
The record would also show that overall the economy grew positively over two per cent a year during the PPP 23 years. Contrast this with a negative 5 per cent a year under the PNC during the preceding 28 years.
Between 1965 and 1992, under the PNC tenure, the economy contracted 500 per cent.
In general, political appointees should tender their resignations when there is a change in administration. Dr Gobin is not a political hawk like what the PPP found when it came into office in 1992—political hawks were everywhere. Thus, there is no need for him to be replaced.
Besides, under Dr Gobin’s tenure as Governor under the PPP regime, the economy grew about 5 per cent a year. Since the change in regime 16 months ago, the economy has contracted by some 20 per cent. Is Dr Gobin’s policy or the regime’s politics responsible for the economic decline?
Anyone with basic understanding of economics and politics would know that Dr Gobin has nothing to do with the rapid decline of the economy. Sylvester needs to get his facts right.
Instead of seeking to replace a professional like Dr Gobin with a political appointee, I suggest Sylvester focus his energy on coming up with suggestions on ending what are perceived as racial and political discriminatory policies against non-PNC supporters.
Yours truly,
Dr Vishnu Bisram
