THERE is an ongoing discussion on how Guyana can learn from the shortcomings of Trinidad and Tobago in the management of that country’s oil-and-gas sector. More recently, these discussions have intensified, with the economic challenges of the Twin Island Republic highlighted. I believe that there are many lessons Guyana can learn from Trinidad, but not just in oil.

Petroleum in Trinidad and Tobago was first discovered in 1857, but commercial exploration and production did not get underway until 1907. Since then, Professor Ralph Premdas and Dr Bishnu Ragoonath (2020), related that the country experienced two “booms”- first from 1973 to 1982, and then again from 1999 to 2008.

The country, however, fell into a “period of trauma” from 1982 to 1992, when oil prices collapsed. After 2008, other collapses followed.

In their research paper titled, “From oil and gas, from boom to bust and back: the Trinidad experience with the resource curse,” Professor Premdas and Dr Ragoonauth outlined Trinidad’s rapid economic growth.

Trinidad fell prey to distorted development despite efforts at countering seemingly inherent (or at least, expected) challenges- wherein the oil-and-gas sector evolved quicker than other sectors. The country was largely unable to develop other sectors, and as such, with the depletion of the oil resources, Trinidad began experiencing economic challenges.

I lived in Trinidad for a short while. During that time, though, I was enthralled by the country and its people. And, importantly, I garnered an appreciation of how much wealth can help transform a country – be it in beautification efforts, infrastructural development, or developing education and healthcare.

But, during my stay in Trinidad, the economic fallout was already becoming apparent. At the end of my first semester at the university, I spent some time engaging a Trinidadian Economist and Lecturer on his thoughts about Guyana. He did not hesitate to emphasise that Guyana should be focused on ensuring that other sectors of the economy become competitive, so that the country’s development is not dependent on oil-and-gas development alone.

Because of the known economic challenges emanating from Trinidad’s dependence on oil and gas and its inability to diversify its economy, the local focus on boosting agriculture and developing a strong manufacturing sector is key.

But boosting these sectors can’t just come from wishful thinking. That’s why efforts such as the gas-to-energy project, in my opinion, are crucial to ensuring that the non-oil sectors are strong enough to compete against oil and gas. With this project, electricity costs should be halved, resulting in a lower cost of production. With that lower cost of production, it becomes easier to keep non-oil sectors competitive.

Guyana can learn more beyond oil and diversifying the local economy. Though I enjoyed my stay in the Twin Island Republic, it was not without its challenges. I often heard the horror stories of being a Guyanese in Trinidad- the xenophobia masquerading as concerns over the impact of an influx of immigrants on the job sector. Or worse, the accusations that we were liars, cheats and criminals.

During my first month of classes in 2019, my first real exposure to this was a lecturer pointing out to a class of at least 300 students that the only reason Trinidadians weren’t as concerned about Guyanese anymore, was because Venezuelans were the new targets. That and, well, Guyana now had oil (and that perhaps meant that the country garnered some respectability- yes, the logic escapes me).

But that was met with snide remarks and sarcastic laughs from young folks in the lecture theatre. It was apparent that the “concerns” about Guyanese were still there. That certainly wasn’t as bad as facing the accusations as many Guyanese students before me faced, but it still saddened me.

In the minds of many, Guyanese had been exploiting the riches of Trinidad- riches that were rightfully theirs to develop and exploit. That is nationalism and xenophobia- not patriotism. And it’s the sort of thing that we have to be very wary of not doing ourselves.

With the recent conversation on Guyana learning from Trinidad gaining momentum again, the hurt we felt is evident in the comments and posts on social media. Surely, Guyanese must benefit from the exciting developments in our country, and we must guard against foreign exploitation. But we must not, ourselves, become xenophobic and hurt people in the very same way that we once were.

For me, if managed well, oil and gas can help Guyana and Guyanese be better. While we pursue this together, we must be wary of the challenges ahead of us and pay keen attention to the shortcomings of those countries, such as Trinidad and Tobago, who attempted to forge similar paths before us.

If you would like to connect with me to discuss this column or any of my previous works, feel free to email me at vish14ragobeer@gmail.com