Dear Editor:

As the quarrying sector here continues to face a significant downturn, there has been a sizable dent in capital equipment sales on all fronts in Guyana in 2016. Reading the Bank of Guyana Half Year Report for 2016, one finds that the import of “capital goods” decreased by 13.9 percent or US$26.0 million. It matters not which industry we are talking about, the report clearly stated that there was a decrease in the import in the first six months of 2016 for transport machinery, building machinery, agricultural machinery, industrial machinery, mining machinery, and other capital goods.

Any competent economic thinker will tell you that importing new capital goods exposes a nation to the latest technology, which directly improves labour efficiency, which improves productivity, which positively enhances economic growth. Shifting G$1.6 billion dollar worth of stone sales to Suriname from our traditional high-quality stone suppliers has directly exported new jobs opportunity out of Guyana and has curtailed the local quarrying industry’s ability to expand and establish themselves as competitive exporters.

But the core point of this letter has to be attributed to a comment made by Minister David Patterson, who through his spokesperson said the Surinamese are prepared to supply and deliver the stone landed at the Timehri docks at US$28 per tonne, compared to the local quotes which were around US$36 per tonne at Georgetown.  But one of the suppliers hit back by saying our Guyanese quarry products are of a superior quality and they were prepared to adjust the prices downwards based on the volumes.  Even if they had to cut their profits, every one of the Guyanese quarry would have done the right thing for Guyana.

This lopsided contract for inferior stones should be squashed and re-tendered with a geographic clause inserted along with a price cap of US$30 for the better quality Guyanese stones.  As the local stone supplier said, based on volumes, they can reduce their prices significantly and may even match the price of the Surinamese supplier.  So why not give the locals a chance to put up?

But what about national pride?  President Granger talks about national pride all the time. Isn’t it President Granger, who spoke about “let us cooperate for Guyana”?  But this tender board seems not to be following the President’s wishes. When large national projects like Linden Highway were being implemented under the Father of the PNC,  former President Burnham, always ensured that the locals shine.  So what is really wrong with the PNC these days?  Where is that economic nationalism from the Burnham era?

Being frugal doesn’t mean saving money.  If we build that runaway on the cheap stone, we will be putting hundreds of lives at risk.  So we may be having these stones cheap now, but it will cost us multiples in the long run with higher safety risk at the airport, lost jobs in the economy and direct stagnation in the quarrying sector. Therefore, we are not being economically efficient by sourcing inferior stones from a foreign country when we have world-class stones at home.  It is time some people in the Ministry of Public Infrastructure ‘wizen’ up, or is this what some people are telling me; “A back room contract to benefit the new boys in town?” Is the deal really to buy cheap foreign stones instead of the better quality Guyanese stones and the difference in value will be worked through the contract to share among the new political elite?

Regards
Sase Singh, M.Sc. – Finance, ACCA