EVERYTIME I see a television show set in a post-apocalyptic world or in the midst of a zombie apocalypse I always comically think to myself: “Don’t any of these characters know their history?” The first thing you need to do to restore order is get a few of your friends together and hand out some short stabbing swords and shields.

In about 10 minutes you’ll have conquered everything within sight and restored order. Why? Because, as leaders as diverse as Caesar and Shaka Zulu have demonstrated, those are the most efficient weapons of the pre-industrial world. Simple to use. Simple to make. Simple to distribute.

There’s a lot to be said for efficiency and as a result of their particular weapons, both Caesar and Shaka led highly successful campaigns. Historians may separate these men by 1000 factors, but the core of their approach is almost exactly the same. How can we best incorporate this emphasis on efficiency into our national development strategy? Is there perhaps a sector of our economy which is both highly productive and, strange enough, highly inefficient?

Somehow, I can’t get it out of my mind that in some parts of the interior it costs a $1000 for a beer. Everything is exceptionally expensive, because the high-earning gold miners are desperate for goods that are few and far between, because of the arduous journey through the jungle to supply the businesses near them. And so while the industry is productive, it also is highly inefficient at improving standards of living. All the value that is generated seems to be soaked up by the Amazon!

Over the past few weeks, it has become clear that very significant sums are available if Guyana should choose to borrow from the Islamic Development Bank. Turning our gold industry from a mere employer to an engine of prosperity through strategic infrastructural investments is as good a policy as any. Not only does the economy need an economic boost, there is much to gain from a more efficient industry.

Standards of living for gold workers are certainly far below what they might be, if access to the many local gold-mining areas was greatly improved. How often have we heard anecdotes of the rigours of hinterland travel? I hear too many times about difficult roads like “plunge-in,” where the passenger next to the driver has to bail water out as the vehicle rolls on through muddy water. It is no wonder that a beer costs $1000 if it has to go through such torment to get to the cooler.

Another way gold workers suffer is that an inability to visit one’s family and friends regularly due to such rigours, forces them to become seasonal workers. A friend of mine mentioned he could make a maximum of 500,000 a month in the interior, but also that he would only work there for six months at a time — of course, that means he is only really working for an average of $250,000 a month before taxes. While certainly very good nonetheless, it’s a shame he couldn’t make $500,000 all year round.

Of course, better access to the interior will probably mean more people flooding the mining industry, driving down wages. But if at the very least the beer is cheaper and miners can visit their friends and family with relative ease, they will certainly be far better off. Even further, however, instead of resources being wasted on an outrageous cost of living they can instead be turned to further developing business operations, or generating new businesses or industries altogether, boosting both job creation and tax revenue.

It is thus that infrastructural spending which specifically supports our gold industry will likely have a secondary effect on the economy, which can sharply increase growth. It would represent one of the best national investments in terms of likely returns. I would even hazard that gold miners would be willing to move their families inland, if travel to the coast were not so cumbersome that living in the interior to a certain extent cuts one off from the daily happenings in Guyanese society. This would further develop inland areas as communities begin to grow. Only a few hours drive to the coast on the weekends? That seems reasonable.

I have long believed that focusing on oil revenue in a way misses the point about the moment Guyana is truly experiencing. What we have long decried is a lack of capital to make the best use of our considerable hinterland resources. Now that we have it, our task is simply to have the confidence to follow through on all that promise.

While we certainly shouldn’t get carried away, we need to make use of oil resources as soon as possible. If we are strategic, focusing on efficiency much like the great societies of antiquity we have nothing to fear. And perhaps that is what I most respect about Guyana’s gold miners — they are not afraid to plunge into the jungle in search of a better life.