PPP/C presidential candidate to gain from the ‘Jagdeo Legacy’
AS I BEGAN to write this piece, India just defeated Sri Lanka to win the 2011 Cricket World Cup in Mumbai. India has now reclaimed cricket world championship 28 years after first winning it in 1983. Coincidentally, the People’s Progressive Party was in the political wilderness for 28 years, from 1964 through 1992.

Apart from India’s victory, this year, 2011, hopefully, is election year in Guyana. At this time, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) have Mr. David Granger and Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan, respectively, as their presidential candidates. Imminently, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) will present its elected presidential candidate on to the political platform.

President Bharrat Jagdeo recently remarked that whoever the candidate is, that candidate will secure strong support. That support will emanate from the PPP/C and the Guyanese masses throughout this country. But this PPP/C candidate also will strengthen his candidacy, vis-à-vis the Jagdeo Administration’s legacy.

There are some cynics who constantly and ridiculously attempt to thwart the Jagdeo developmental gains, albeit without success. This constant cynicism and pessimism never cease to entertain me, particularly as they resonate with some amusing pieces from Oscar Wilde, who describes a CYNIC as “A man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing,” and a  PESSIMIST as “… one who, when he has the choice of two evils, chooses both.” Please digest.

Consider these detractors’ cynicism towards the Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). The Guyana/Norway partnership, over the next five years, will provide Guyana initially with US$250 million with a recent addition to the pool of US$40 million; Guyana expects to increase its action to reduce forest-based greenhouse gas emissions and preserve its rainforest. Unsurprisingly, the cynicists and pessimists already provided their downbeat prognosis on the Guyana/Norway partnership without valid evidence. And a few days ago, this group intended to provide an anti-LCDS report to the Norway Government through the Norwegian Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim who was in Guyana for a short visit. The Guyana/Norway partnership, nonetheless, is still intact.

‘There are some cynics who constantly and ridiculously attempt to thwart the Jagdeo developmental gains, albeit without success. This constant cynicism and pessimism never cease to entertain me, particularly as they resonate with some amusing pieces from Oscar Wilde, who describes a CYNIC as “A man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing,” and a  PESSIMIST as “… one who, when he has the choice of two evils, chooses both’

These detractors also remind me of the U.S. ‘Beal Deal’ in the 1990s, when the Opposition was unyielding in ensuring that it remained a dead deal. Dr. Frank Beckles, Sherwood Kendall, Jonathan Adams, Ashton Simon, and Kathleen Rajkumar challenged in the High Court the agreement between the Government of Guyana and the Texas-based Beal Aerospace Corp. of the U.S. Beal wanted to set up the world’s first private spaceport. This deal fell through, notwithstanding support from the Private Sector Commission, and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Notwithstanding these naysayers’ disgruntlement, Guyana has developmental gains, a rock-solid legacy from the Jagdeo Administration from which the PPP/C presidential candidate will benefit. I will merely sketch a few developmental gains. I make no bones about the fact that one of Jagdeo’s persisting legacies will be his vision to sustain macroeconomic fundamentals.

Macroeconomic fundamentals are intact; a few examples will be sufficient here. At September 30, 2010, the Bank of Guyana reported that inflation was 2.8%; prime lending rate at 14.54%; exchange rate sustained its stability at 0.12% against the USD. The balance of payments’ surplus persists, declining to some extent from US$206.1 million in 2009 to its current US$57.9 million, due to a reduced capital account surplus and an increased current account deficit. Related economic gains include: per capita income of US$2, 500 in 2010 from US$231 in 1991; 3% economic growth rate in 2010; foreign direct investments (FDIs) of US$692M in 2010 from US$2.6M from 1982-1991.The tax threshold is G$480,000 in 2011; the public sector monthly minimum wage currently is US$166 from US$22 in 1992.

The PPP/C presidential candidate can feel comfortable with other gains: agricultural diversification with $490.2M for diversifying programmes to include five business facilitation centres in Regions 2, 3, 5, 6, and 10; $24.3B for education in 2011; $14B for the health sector in 2011; significant improvements in Amerindian affairs pertaining to water and land transport; new village offices; communication enhancement, land demarcation, etc. There are other developmental gains you could peruse from the Sample Highlights document by contacting me through my email indicated here. For these reasons, the PPP/C presidential candidate is in good stead, and Guyana awaits this candidacy.