The combined Opposition is way out of its league
–on issues of Economics in Guyana

OLD Kai has been paying special attention to the areas of focus by the opposition politics parties over the past few years. Everything they have done to date has been centered on distracting from the economic revolution underway in our country.They cannot dispute the fact that Guyana has experienced record years of consecutive economic growth, so they have smartly stayed as far away from this reality as possible. Conversely, they have embarked on a deliberate strategy to destabilise the factors of economic growth by strangling, through their one-seat majority in the National Assembly, any initiative that would aid the business sector.
Their justification has been lack of transparency and corruption. It does not matter how much information is provided; it does not matter what this PPP/C Government does. The opposition will continue to maintain its stance, because it simply does not have another option. It is fully aware that economics is not its forte, so it will stick to those two excuses, without venturing further to explain in detail exactly what are the particulars of its concern.
Their position is buffered by the ‘independent media’, the majority of which do not care to press the opposition for more details. They are running out of ammunition to attack the Marriott Hotel, after the investor from Hong Kong was identified; so be prepared for a shift in their line of fire in the days ahead.
When you have individuals such as David Granger and his buddy Joseph Harmon, along with Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo articulating the economic policies of the opposition, you get the picture. These are the individuals who are vying to be placed in positions where they will direct the future of Guyana’s economic progress, and by extension the economic future of each and every single Guyanese, regardless of what your features are, your economic status, your profession, ethnicity, political persuasion, sexual orientation etc.
In economics, one is taught the formula for forecasting. To determine a future outcome, one is required to take a combination of past and current data, using a prescribed formula, to come up with a projection. If we were to forecast the economic ability of the AFC/APNU, I daresay the results will be very grim.
Let’s start with the AFC: This is a small party that is less than 10 years old. We are told that the Party has raised millions upon millions of dollars over this period, yet this Party has had trouble honouring something as straightforward as its rental obligations. As a result, it has moved its headquarters around the Capital City more times than Hammie and Sooba have clashed at City Hall.
The financial mismanagement was evident in the fallout after the last elections, when members accused an elite clique within the Party of not properly accounting for the expenditure of over $20M, while the Party’s leadership is still to pronounce on one of its MP’s from Berbice being accused of misappropriating millions of dollars in party donations.
The financial mismanagement and lack of accountability inside the Party reached a crescendo when the fallout spilled out into the open, and several members, both locally and overseas, who were significant financiers packed up their bags and left the AFC’s camp. The situation got so dire that they sent Moses Nagamootoo to the media to highlight their financial plight, and beg for more donations.
Bear in mind that this does not take into consideration their numerous flip-flops, siding with contractors who employed their membership to use their position in the National Assembly to force a particular outcome in awarding of project etc.
If we were to use their ability to maintain the financial health of their small political Party, then clearly within the range of 10, they would come out 7. It is guaranteed that based on their performance thus far, being placed in charge of the Executive arm of Government will do great damage to the economic wellbeing and future prospect of Guyanese.
But, clearly, that is not a possibility, as even the AFC leader has admitted that they knew before the 2011 elections that they would have not been elected to Government. Hence, it is easy to see why they made, and continue to make, all manner of grand and over-the-top declarations, as they are aware that they will never be called upon to honour them.
We will focus on the PNC-APNU economic performance in tomorrow’s edition, and come up with their forecasting score. In the meantime, you can make your own assessment and send your comments to oldkaichronicles@gmail.com