Christmas consumerism, crime and confidence

THIS WEEK, two social media comments have put in perspective much of what has occupied the minds of Guyanese people.

The first was from Bryan MacIntosh, intrepid amateur photographer, social justice advocate, motor racing aficionado and all-round patriot.

“How can the economy be bad if some stores are doing so much business that they don’t have enough hands to collect the money?” Bryan wondered in a Facebook post. A few minutes later, he added an addendum: “The trouble is that some have gotten accustomed to the big wutless money and now they can’t deal with the legit “small” money. Bring in quality products, lower your profit margin and the business will boom,” he both observed and advised.

It was an honest, practical and eminently sensible observation. For most of 2016, the lament has been that “things slow”. The opportunity for political exploitation was not missed by the usual elements.

It would appear though — from all the evidence this Christmas season — that things have picked up considerably. The Yuletide season comes immediately following the presentation of Budget 2017 on November 28th last. The effects of the budget presentation would not be economically measured until a thorough analysis is done. However, what is not in dispute is that complaints that “things slow” have trickled to a halt.

This Christmas season is booming. I have spoken to a number of business owners — large, medium and small. They all report brisk business.

The simple, authentic, indisputable examples abound.

1. My wife went to multiple stores looking for fairy lights, an item which is synonymous with the season. She was turned away multiple times after being told that all the fairy lights’ stocks were sold out.

2. On Sunday last, the business district of Georgetown (Regent Street, Robb Street, Camp Street, Water Street, Avenue of the Republic and Stabroek Market Square) was chock-a-block with pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

3. Also on Sunday, I tried to buy paint at a popular Regent Street hardware store and could not get the quantity I needed, as only one gallon was left; the rest had been sold out.

4. At this very store, on a Sunday nonetheless, the sales attendants had a difficult time catering to the influx of customers seeking everything: from vinolay to tiles to plumbing fittings to building materials and, of course, paint.

5. The household items, electronics and apparel stores at Giftland Mall are flooded with streams of customers. All the teller stations are manned and kept busy.

6. Try booking a ticket from New York, Miami or Toronto to Guyana.

These examples are not politically coloured, they are easily verifiable.

The $25,000 tax-free bonus for public servants earning under $500,000 would have aided in the Christmas spending frenzy, but it suggests a deeper confidence in the economy by the ordinary people. The early presentation of the budget, maligned in some quarters for progressive if unpleasant tax initiatives, has not had any noticeably deleterious effect on consumer confidence. The opposite might in fact be true.

Bryan MacIntosh observed this in his comment, and noted as well that those in the business sector who are benefiting most are those who understand the economy in which they are operating: who adapt and who cater to the needs of the consumers. These are progressive times, and those who are stuck in old lawless ways and who reject change will encounter challenges.

The second post was by radio talk show host, public relations specialist and equal patriot Christopher Chapwanya, who wrote, “[w]hen a truck drives into a crowded market in Germany, an ambassador is assassinated in Turkey, and refugees desperately flee war zones in Syria, you remember that even with all our challenges, Guyana is stable and remains a great place to be. The insane here mostly rant on the Internet and in the press…the insane elsewhere shoot and blow things up.”

Again, for most of 2016, there has been the refrain about the frequency of crime, particularly robberies. The Guyana Police Force and the Ministry of Public Security have regularly released figures which illustrate that crime in Guyana is on the decrease and is lower than in all recent years.

This, though, has not done much to allay the fears and anxieties of the public. The regular reports of robberies heighten those fears and anxieties. What Chapwanya’s analogy homes in on is the fact that crime is a global issue, it is not one unique to Guyana; and further, when looked at in relative terms, we have the luxury of living in a country where we do not have to respond to air raid alarms, bombings in public places, or scramble for life and limb in war zones.

There is a second dimension as well. And that is that while — as Minister Khemraj Ramjattan noted in a recent interview — the level of crime is still unsatisfactory, unlike prior to the change in government, there is an aggressive assault on criminal activity.

Crimes are being solved, arrests are being made, and those who engage in gunfights with law enforcement officials are ending up on the losing side of that battle.

The perpetrators of the Hotel Tower robbery were captured within hours. Arrests were made in the Corentyne Cambio dealer’s robbery. The Faiyaz Narinedatt/Marcus Bisram murder saga is being resolved. The robbery/murder of the elderly rice farming couple at Good Hope on the East Bank of Essequibo is being solved. Even cold cases such as the Babita Sarjou murder and others are being solved. The Seaforth Street bandits were cut down in a gunfight with the cops.

As Chapwanya noted in a previous Facebook post in regard to the outcome of the Seaforth Street case, “[i]f the police keep this up the criminals will come around to understanding that there’s a serious occupational health and safety hazard in [their] line of business.”

Crime-fighting efforts need to be continued and intensified, but gains are being made. The criminals will come to the realisation, as Chapwanya notes, that ‘it ain’t paying’, and seek other sources of income. Public confidence is being restored; it will take more time and more diligent work by those in the Police Force who are not entrapped by corruption and greed. This process is slow and not without challenges, but the police are on the right path. The statistics are on their side; soon the public will be as well.

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