I RECEIVED a video clip of an interview with Melinda Janki. And believe me I have not heard such abysmal ignorance in decades while living in Guyana. It is not only Ms. Janki that is ignorant but the interviewer that selected her. If you are going to have a discussion on the oil economy in Guyana, then you need to interview specialist economists. Ms. Janki is not an economist and has no training in political theory yet went on to discuss political theory, in which her opinions were highly atrocious.
Ms. Janki rejected the President’s statement that the government is giving support to infrastructure and economic transformation. Ms Janki said that was not the role of government, but rather that the government’s job was to take care of the people.
There and then the interviewer should have stopped Ms. Janki and asked her to explain what is meant by the government taking care of the people. It is when you apply political theory to that statement that you see the shortcomings of Ms. Janki.
She went on to say that governments should not make business decisions. Which world has Ms. Janki been living in for the past 50 years? Which books has Ms. Janki read? Which countries has Ms. Janki studied? Two phenomenal countries that economists and political theorists must study, simply because they are global phenomena, are Singapore and China.
In both countries, their economies became massively successful because the government in each country made business decisions that shaped the economy. Any person who gives an interview in 2026 and says that governments do not make business decisions should not partake in civilised debate.
The government of every petro-nation in the Arab Gulf has made business decisions that have made them rich and continue to do so. The State of New York owns the subway system. For over 80 years the Government of France owned and administered Air France. In Kerala and West Bengal, two of several federal states in India have owned and operated successful state businesses.
Ms Janki went on to tell her interviewer that the government should keep out of business and let the market decide. She added that the people will decide on the economy. Can you believe this lady’s mediocrity? The people decide after they vote and in voting they choose people who have different policy directions. The people of New York City chose a socialist mayor. They want such a politician to make business decisions, and the mayor is embarking on city-owned grocery stores.
The governments of the European Union have been making business decisions even when the WTO forbids such directions. Since the formation of the WTO, the EU has been violating WTO rules by its business decision to subsidise its farmers.
President Irfaan Ali’s pathway is one of government support for infrastructure and economic transformation – the very role of government that Janki rejects. Those two policies of President Ali were enunciated long before the general election of 2025. Ali contested that election and increased the incumbent’s seat by three. That role of government is what the electorate accepted, thus Ali won re-election.
She said the people will decide on the economy. How do they do that? By meeting at a public rally and decide that they want the government to keep out of the oil industry. Do they do that by meeting at the National Park and advise the government to give each citizen two million dollars?
And even if they do that, then you have to gauge the percentage of the turnout as against the numbers that make up the population. Five UG students formed a group named “We The People.” What percentage is five out of a UG student population of 6000 and the country’s population of one million?
The people decide on the economic policy, government spending education, housing projects, infrastructure, sports development and foreign policy by voting for a party that includes those priorities in its manifesto. When that party wins, the people have decided. What is so complex about this process that Janki doesn’t understand? Janki told her interviewer to let the market decide. I thought it was the people that decide if they want a market economy or a socialist government. In New York, they chose a socialist Mayor.
Finally, I complete this column still bewildered by Janki’s statement that the role of government is to take care of the people. Can someone who is a fan of Janki ask her to describe and enumerate what a government does when it takes care of the people? I doubt Janki can undertake that task. Ignorance would stand in her way.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.