I REFER to Mr. Emile Mervin’s letter of May 25, 2009, with the caption ‘The spin doctor and his web of deceit’.

Mr. Mervin seems to be entangled in my web of facts. Fighting hard to transform facts into a chimera, Mr. Mervin remains trapped and confused.

Political spin people, like Mr. Mervin, are now desperately attempting to nitpick against the PPP/C Administration; and, invariably, I think their episodes against the PPP/C Administration are a caricature.

The question of promises not being honored by the Government does not hold. Numerous accomplishments for the people since 1992, indeed, have superseded the ‘promises’ argument, to advancing the discussion of meeting people’s needs to a higher level.

The ‘promises’ argument holds when little or nothing is done for the people. See my letter with the caption ‘Let history be the judge of this Government’s record, and some chimera’ for a shopping list of this Administration’s accomplishments.

And why should the Government not use valid and reliable data as part of its progress report to the people of Guyana? Look, there are some things that have not been achieved and some are a work in progress. But the entire tenet of the argument of this man and others of his ilk use a ‘perfection-type’ benchmark to judge this Government’s record; and wherever there is some deficit, they are able to say ‘gotcha’; but all Governments will have shortfalls more frequently because of the application of misplaced standards.

These spin people may serve the dailies well if they use a ‘satisfying’ perspective in their evaluative framework rather than a utopian-type.

As Mervin spins, he attempts to play the role of a psychic, where he continues to ramble about the President seeking a third term for Presidency. It’s interesting that this political twister seems to have an obsession with ‘Jagdeo’s third term’. And even if the President follows the line of this twister’s chimera, would this not be part of the due process under parliamentary procedures, and where in fact the President has the right to so do? I thought that it is a good to uphold a democracy and ensure that the democratic norms apply to all and sundry, inclusive of the President.

Mr. Mervin so ashamed of his attempt to discredit the economic achievements of Guyana realizes that my web of facts are too strong for his escape and now attempts to put a spin on his arguments. Once again, the facts have proven him wrong. Again, See my letter with the caption ‘Let history be the judge of this Government’s record, and some chimera’ for a shopping list of this Administration’s accomplishments.

And where is the evidence to demonstrate that the ordinary person is not a beneficiary of economic achievements?

Many Guyanese did look forward for a change in 1992, since the economy was in shambles, and the PPP Government did successfully manage to restore this economy. Today, sound macroeconomic fundamentals are in place.

The PPP/C has been in office for 16 years, given that financial viability took nine years to reach; clearly then, the PPP/C has been presiding over a solvent Guyana only for eight years; Mr. Mervin should do the math. Under the PPP/C’s watch, we are really looking at not 16 years, but 8 years as critical for assessing this country’s developmental gains.

However, it is instructive to note that the PPP/C Administration achieved several developmental gains, even within the period from 1992 when Guyana was insolvent. Today, some analyses of Guyana exclude discussions on the 1992 debt burden and the dilapidated infrastructure, evidenced in the World Bank Report of 1994; and the time it took to reach financial viability.

Look, debt relief facilitated the pace toward reaching financial viability and channeled enormous sums of funds to revive the ailing social services sector and the dilapidated physical and social infrastructure; and so, the spin fellow is wrong about the significance of debt relief for developing human capital.

During the years of quasi-insolvency, that is, prior to the achievement of financial viability, the revenue source for revitalizing the social sector was mainly the HIPC and Enhanced-HIPC conditionality; as a condition for receipt of HIPC and Enhanced-HIPC, the Government was expected to apply the funds freed-up from debt relief, to education, health, social services, etc. Debt relief helped, as the PPP/C Administration inherited practically zero funds from the PNC in 1992.

Make no mistake about the view that securing debt relief was noteworthy for Guyana’s development; Guyana’s debt payments without HIPC in 2005 would have been US$103 million; and with HIPC, debt payments in 2005 were circa US$43 million. Clearly, quite a considerable sum was made available vis-à-vis debt relief for the social sector. And the National Competitiveness Unit is addressing the question of foreign investments in the context of remittances, among other variables. Perhaps, this spinner can provide some of his inputs on FDIs/remittances to this Unit.

Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lauded the Government in a report for the effective implementation of policy initiatives, sound macroeconomic stability, the achievement of real growth rate of 3.1 percent in 2008, following rates of 5.1 and 5.4 percent in 2006 and 2007, respectively, and the stabilization of inflation rate.

Lastly, I reiterate that the CLICO matter was discussed at the highest level (Parliament), and if Mr. Mervin should require any further information, then I suggest that he consult the Parliamentary records.
PREM MISIR