Dear Editor,
I STAND corrected when I say that I recall hearing, while listening to part of a telecast, the monotonous and uninspiring voice of Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo criticising the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s visit to Guyana, and their subsequent release of their findings of their in-country visit.

And what do we have to expect as reaction to the multilateral organisation’s very laudable commendations about the Guyana economy, which has been projected to achieve a 4.4% growth for 2019? Criticisms about the Fund’s alleged failure to take into consideration his particular comments/observations etcetera about the local economy. This would mean his self-ascribed status as economic guru, from whom all plans and predictions flow. But, says who?

It is not altogether unexpected, for Jagdeo believes that he is the only economist who can manage this country’s economy, and set it on its correct path to rejuvenation. Well, he had 23 years to prove such a self-ascribed ability. And what were we left with after over two decades of PPP/C governance? An economy that had been built mainly on the proceeds of narco-trafficking, which presented a false veneer of an economy on real solid economic footing.

Editor, Jagdeo understands clearly that every IMF country visit and assessment is an independent exercise, carried out in a free and independent manner, and without prejudice. He would also be aware that it’s conclusions about the state of the national economy would have been arrived at after discussions with all the major players of the particular country in review. And if one were to judge from Jagdeo’s statements, it is both a disappointment to his self-projected expectations of an economy which he has always misleadingly reported to his followers/supporters as not doing well because of mismanagement etcetera. It must be that the positives of the report, particularly that there is growth across all sectors, has shaken Jagdeo from the torpor of his self-delusion. Of course, there is so much more to be done, given the gargantuan tasks of denuding the economy of its false veneer, inherent of primarily the proceeds of the narco-trade, while concomitantly restoring its proper structures. But there is no doubt that there is a bright future ahead for Guyana and all Guyanese, irrespective of the attempts at fake news and other devious acts intended to sow seeds of national dissension, compliments of Jagdeo.

Regards,
Troy Garraway