NAVIGATING Guyana’s misinformation minefield in the quest to arrive at truth oftentimes requires going to the original source. When Guyana achieved republican status in 1970 it was renamed the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. That over the years “cooperative” was axed from official documents and the intent behind the name became distorted, curiosity surrounds this aspect of the nation’s identity. Few can deny in this nation’s politics the achievement or project of a government which was not initiated by the political party of choice. Thus, it can prove difficult to give credit where it’s due; to continue the work, or seek to improve it.
Guyana still has some distance to go where it can be recognised and appreciated that irrespective of the group in government, the work done by any government is funded by the people and therefore aborting sound projects or denying the initiators their credit makes no sense. It has proven difficult for this newspaper to source the reason behind the axing of “cooperative” in official documents, though it is pinpointed it began after the 1992 General and Regional Elections. Also known is that the country is identified in international records and by international institutions as the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
According to President Forbes Burnham the renaming was a purposeful act. In the Sophia Declaration (1974) he advised that the People’s National Congress administration named “Guyana a Co-operative Republic to highlight the fact that the Co-operative will be the principal institution for giving the masses the control of our economy, to emphasise the fact that we aim at making the Co-operative sectors the dominant sector and that the Co-operative is and will be the mechanism for making the small man a real man.”
From 1970 to present the world has gone through various shades of economic ideologies and foci. Guyana moved from a primary socialist-oriented economy to that of market driven, as other economies around the world have too transitioned or placed emphasis on different aspects of their economy over time. While in the late 1980s the private sector was expected to be the engine of growth, resulting in the state reducing its marketing focus, the cooperative sector has also be an economic model with responsibility for promoting growth. In this tri-sectoral economy where the State reduced its market focus this should not prevent the other two sectors from blossoming. The advantage of the cooperative sector is that it is small man oriented, requiring a minimum of seven members, and easy to establish.
It is known that the traditional employment and economic opportunities are not keeping pace with the number of school leavers and job seekers. Where opportunities are either restricted or unknown creativity is stifled. There is no doubt that Guyanese are innovative and creative but where such do not find expression through economic means it creates hopelessness and dependency, neither of which is good for growth and development.
The story carried by this newspaper on Monday about the Paramakatoi Agriculture Co-operative growing tomatoes for commercial purposes evidence the capability of the small man. The creative partnership of this co-op with the Institute of Applied Science and Technology to add value to the product would not only create opportunity for economic self-sufficiency for the farmers and their community, but also result in the maximisation of profit and aid reduction of wastage.
Last week we carried a story of a similar venture involving the Buxton/Friendship Grantees Cooperative Society where its members are engaged in farming. While this activity is up and running the farmers are being faced with challenges which include ineffective drainage facilities and marketing. It was encouraging to see after the story was carried that the Guyana Marketing Corporation sought a meeting with the co-op. If there is the much needed return in focus on the small man being given the opportunity to create wealth through such endeavours, it would be worthwhile elevating the cooperative department- presently housed in the Ministry of Social Protection–in structure, visibility, and knowledge sharing. Our history has proven beyond any doubt that Guyanese are not deprived of sound ideas but that of the avenues and opportunities to realise them. The cooperative sector is still worthwhile as an engine of growth and there is upward mobility for citizens should it be allowed to run at full throttle.