–Vice-President says, but affirms that authorities will not allow others to displace Guyanese in their homeland

EVEN as Guyana continues to implement measures and policies that would enhance the lives of every citizen, Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has said that the country remains committed to working with all of its CARICOM counterparts to help enhance the outlook of those nations, and foster better relationships.

The Vice-President said this remains the case even though he has heard many disparaging things about Guyana and Guyanese.

And while he affirmed that Guyana remains committed to its treaty obligations, Vice-President Jagdeo made it clear that authorities will not allow others to displace Guyanese from their resources in their own country.

“We’re open to working with all CARICOM countries; it must be an equitable sort of relationship that both countries benefit from,” Vice-President Jagdeo said during a press briefing at the Office of the President on Friday.

Trinidad and Tobago, he underscored, is valuable in this sense, since they have the capital and expertise, especially in the oil-and-gas sector.

“…They have capital; they have expertise, and we can benefit from that. But people have to understand we’re on equal footing,” Vice-President Jagdeo said.

Part of the benefits from Trinidad and Tobago, however, also includes learning from its experiences with oil resources.
To this end, Vice-President Jagdeo said the government intends to tailor its policies differently, so that Guyana does not become reliant solely on revenues from oil and gas.

Dr. Jagdeo said the topic of Trinidad and Tobago’s utilisation of oil resources for the management of the economy is nothing new; that it has nothing to do with the current Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Keith Rowley, but rather the fact that Trinidad’s economy, for over a long period, relied only on one sector.

“There is a theory that that shouldn’t happen… Theoretically, the danger has been pointed out, and it’s called the Dutch Disease. And, practically, it has consequences for your country, too; and we’ve seen it happen,” the Vice-President said.

According to Dr. Jagdeo, he recalled reading one of Trinidad and Tobago’s earlier budgets where the country had reported a loss of 80 per cent of its revenue due to a change in oil-and-gas prices and a fall in production.

He added: “To organise a budget when you have such a big economic shock, it is difficult; things will fall apart, whether you like it or not. And so, I said we are determined in Guyana to avoid going down that path, which has happened not just in Trinidad and Tobago, but in many countries in the world.”