– Gov’t ministers predict all-round development

GUYANESE can expect development in areas across the board with the beginning of oil production, and can rest assured that the government will continue to do all in its power to manage the coming resources prudently so that all will benefit equally.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday, Vice-President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, said that although it was always more than a hunch that Guyana had oil, finally becoming a petroleum producer is “a dream come true.”

On Friday evening, President David Granger announced ‘first’ oil, simultaneously declaring December 20 as ‘National Petroleum Day’ in a televised national address.

“It was always there, but now that it is here I think it will be a blessing for us all here in Guyana, as long as we manage it properly,” Minister Allicock said.

While some are preoccupied with the fact that Guyana is new to oil production and does not have the best history of proper resource management, Allicock said that the country has been presented with enough examples to get it right.

“There is no excuse for us to not manage it properly because there are small countries and large countries that have had the experience of oil and we should learn from those experiences…Guyana was able to capitalise on the history of those other oil countries and we have been able to put [our Sovereign Wealth Fund] in place even before ‘first oil.’ I think we’re in a good position to put systems in place for better management,” he told Guyana Chronicle.

When it comes to his ministry, Allicock said that he looks forward to seeing the gap between the coast and the hinterland being bridged once and for all, thereby brining prosperity to all Guyanese.

He wants to see the revenues used to develop better infrastructure, improve education and health services, boost tourism and agriculture and protect the natural environment.

On that note, he reminded that in the beginning of 2020 the government will be commissioning the Green Institute, a place for young Guyanese to receive skills training to become part of the workforce needed to push the country forward.

“We have a growing population of young people, but they need not to only get the degrees but to also have the experience. This oil revenue should be spent strategically in arming and rounding these young people, giving them the skill needed. Theory and practice must go together, so that we can be able to have a workforce that would be ready here in Guyana for any companies coming in,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Karen Cummings said that Guyanese have much to be excited about as becoming an oil-producing nation means that all Guyanese, especially the common man, will begin to benefit in more ways than before.

She stated that although she speaks about excitement, all must be assured that the government has not lost sight of the need to manage the country’s resources to avoid the mistakes of other oil-producing countries in the world.

“We still have to remember that agriculture is a part of our economy and we don’t want to be caught up with the ‘Dutch disease’,” Dr Cummings said.

“We have set up the Sovereign Wealth Fund and so we’re going to be spending our money frugally. Words are inadequate for me to express the joy that I have for Guyana moving from low income to upper middle income and being a rich country with prudent spending,” she further added.

Some of the areas she pinpointed for greater transformation were education, infrastructure and youth development.

Minister of Finance Winston Jordan also told this newspaper that ‘first oil’ for Guyanese means “poverty to prosperity and signals transformation from a low wage, mono product, dependent economy to an upper middle income in the coming years.”

“We at the Ministry of Finance are particularly pleased at our accomplishments in making Guyana as ready as it can be. From overseeing the operationalisation of a robust Natural Resource Fund to actively participating in interagency committee on oil and gas, our staff has worked tirelessly and unceasingly to position our country to take advantage of this bounty,” the minister told this newspaper.

“We look forward to playing our critical role in managing these resources in a transparent, accountable and sustainable manner for the benefit of all Guyanese,” he added.

Also speaking with the newspaper, Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney General Basil Williams said: “It will take us a far way in solving a lot of our economic problems and our social problems and, we hope, our political problems. It is good to have revenue and we already have a sound social infrastructure, so that the benefits could be channelled almost immediately through these avenues,” Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney General Basil Williams told this newspaper.”

He stated that he looked forward to seeing persons such as senior citizens benefitting even more than they have begun to benefit under the current administration.

In the 2011 budget, former Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh had announced that senior citizens could expect to get $7,500 a month as of February 1, 2011. In 2012 the administration announced a $600 increase and later changed this to a $2,500 following a meeting between then President Donald Ramotar and then Leader of the Opposition, David Granger.

Today, old age pension stands at $20,500 under the current David Granger administration. The attorney general said that while Guyana’s wealth is welcomed, the government is cognisant of its responsibility to manage the new resource in the best ways possible.

“Nothing could be wrong with wealth, but obviously we have to protect it and ensure that it’s not squandered and that it’s meaningfully spent and that it is spent on each and every Guyanese,” he said.

While the opposition, since the announcement of ‘first oil’, has taken on a negative future outlook, Williams said that one can expect nothing better from a group which believes that its sole job is to oppose.

“The opposition has never been constructive, so they’re just being what they are: the opposition. They believe they exist to oppose but I’m sure that they recognise that it’s a different time now and they need to work together with the government and all parties concerned, so that everything can work out for the benefit of the people,” he said.

Moving forward, Guyana will sell its first three cargoes of crude through direct sale and prior to the sale of its own crude on the market to prevent downward pricing due to the initial uncertainty of its quality.