Page 4
Kaieteur News
Friday August 03, 2012
Letters... Where your views make the news
Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
For a New Trade Policy What exactly are the elements of our trade policy? This is a question that should be occupying our policymakers from both sides of the political divide, rather their interminable wrangling. Our trade policy cannot be a mere ritual of tariff and subsidy manipulations but a coherent vision for a structural transformation of the economy. Domestic and international trade volumes are the functions of an economy. Human, financial, technological, industrial, agricultural and political factors play their role in producing specialised surplus for trade. The structure of an economy and system of resource allocation determines whether a country will export low-end plantain-chips or become internationally competitive in high-end computer chips. Success in gaining competitiveness in international trade is not simply a function of comparative advantage but an expression of a multitude of complex factors which help build competitive advantages in diversified range of products through acquisition of technological capability and human capital. Despite claims from the trade policy orthodoxy that trade liberalisation results in specialisation and ultimately increases the efficient allocation of scarce resources, the issue of deliberately building competitive advantages is crucial. Identification of those products and processes which can deliver sustainable development from exports is of fundamental importance. Unleashing such potentials is a function of public and private sector synergy working to progressively grow from being ‘infants industries’ to highly competitive adults. Liberalization creates a relatively open arena for those who have become stronger and can penetrate foreign markets or can defend domestic share of the market with relative ease. The rest, including Guyana, are either cornered or eliminated from the market. Therefore, who, how and how much will be accumulated, produced and consumed makes perfect sense for heterodox economic thinking, which advocates social efficiency along with economic efficiency of resource allocations. From a human development perspective, the analysis of a trade policy has to be undertaken to assess whether the policy has actually increased employment or not other than its impact on economic growth and trade to GDP ratio. Nowadays, some argue that the impact of trade policy on ‘sustainability’ in terms of environment and other social factors such as health and education, ‘empowerment’ in terms of employment creation, ‘equity’ in terms of distribution of opportunities and wealth, and ‘productivity’ in terms of human capital must be assessed. Such an assessment is conspicuous by its absence in Guyana. The role of the state is vital for creating an environment for trade benefiting the people and is actually embedded in, apart from providing a stable macro-economic framework, the ability to envision, develop, and execute industry, trade, and technology (ITT) policies which are in sync with the larger economic development objectives of the state. There must be the creation of backward and forward linkages through inter-sectoral articulation and wage and skill increases through social articulation are keys for economic success with equity. Harvard’s trade economist, Dani Rodrik, argues that economic growth can come from three sources - foreign borrowing, commodity boom in international market, and from economic restructuring and diversification into new products. For Guyana, a conscious decision is required to divert administrative and financial resources for diversification of products and destinations. To do this, Guyana must focus on ITT policies and have an active labour policy. We need to identify a mix of products which can generate a higher proportion of increasing returns to scale. A good starting point for such thinking would be to focus on a combination of industrial, agricultural, and livestock sector. However, for such programmes, governments need to change resource allocations in a big way. Another good proposal could be to earmark research and development subsidies for agro-food industries. However, these subsidies only make rich people richer if these are not reciprocal to the performance firms deliver in the domestic and international markets. With successful research and development efforts and as a result of both product and process innovations, Guyanese firms can join global value chains and global production networks in a better way.
Guyana is moving to the brink of a ‘failed state’ status
DEAR EDITOR, As the world celebrates the individual and collective successes of nations at the London 2012 Olympics it seems that the only thing our Government can or hope to celebrate will be the notion of a Gold Medal for taking our country to the brink of a ‘failed state’. The ‘failed state’ concept, which came to prominence in academic and policy discourse in the early 1990’s with the publication of David Helman and Steven Ratner’s (1991) article Saving Failed States, continues to enjoy widespread currency as a way of denoting situations where the governmental infrastructure in a state has broken down to a considerable degree. A ‘failed state’ can be criticised on a number of levels, from its essentialist use of language to the particularist basis of defining ‘failure’ and the manner in which it sets up a dichotomous opposition. A statement that a failed state is symptomatic of reactionary leadership is likely to be received with mixed emotions amongst political leaders in Guyana. However, a critical analysis of realities on the ground such as; the Linden massacres, widespread corruption, nepotism, etc, may increase an understanding of the extent
to which a failed state is symptomatic of reactionary leadership. In a country that is and has always been multi-ethnic, cultural and religious, it is not difficult to comprehend what the root causes of internal conflict may be. Power, wealth and greed cannot be ruled out. However, and more importantly, one does not have to be a brain surgeon to recognise that the root cause of all internal conflict in Guyana today is the lack of sensitivity of the Ramotar administration to govern for the ‘greatest good’. Shoved in our faces on a daily basis is the unfair distribution of power and wealth shared amongst an elitist group of individuals emerging as advisors of the President. Believe it or not, President Ramotar has more advisors at Office of the President than Prime Minister David Cameron of the UK or President Barack Obama of the USA whose respective populations are; 700,000 (Guy), 62,641,000 (UK) and 311,591,917 (USA). So what are the characteristics of a ‘failed state’? The foremost characteristic of a failed state is the breakdown of the rule of law and order. We are not quite there but to suggest we
are on the brink is not an understatement. Many factors contribute to breakdown of the rule of law and order. For example, human rights violations such as: corporal punishment in schools, torture whilst in police custody, shooting of innocent protesters with rubber bullets and more recently the Linden massacres. These manifestations when they occur reflect on a system that is unable to provide good governance and effective leadership which are evidenced by the massive civilian re-action echoing their discontent. Another indicator is when heinous crimes are perpetually committed and the system is unable to bring the perpetrators to justice leaving the victims with the perception and belief that the state has failed them. It is no secret that the government offers protection and immunity from litigation and protection to those it regards as its own. There is a lack of discipline and order in society where juniors blatantly defy orders from seniors and elders and in some cases publicly disrespect them. There is a simple reason for this. Those above have lost the moral high ground, the authority to lead and their
moral compass because they themselves are committing crimes in the faces of their subordinates. As a result, the management of the system becomes shambolic and rampantly indiscipline. The combination of shambles, indiscipline and reactionary poor leadership results in irregularities in stewardship making the country heavily infested with greedy and corrupt money grabbers. Another important characteristic of a failed state is when the system itself becomes part of the problem. This could be because the system was nothing but a composition of reactionaries involved in all sorts of things ranging from land and money grabbing to turning a blind eye to criminal activities because of vested interests. Naturally, this wouldn’t be the way to build a nation. The situation in Linden was deliberate but avoidable. Deliberate because the foundation of the PPP/C administration was firmly cast in disobedience, public disorder and anarchy. Avoidable if our leaders had the skills, tools and strategies as forward thinkers instead of reactors. The people of Linden are now facing the aftershock of the first wave of irrational reactionary leadership traits from a group of weak, (Continued on page 5)
An economical approach to a newly constructed bridge
DEAR EDITOR, I support the call for the construction of a new bridge across the Demerara River. This is not the first time I am penning my grave concern in relation to “Hydrological Engineering” in Guyana, namely: “revetment and land reclamation, integral sea and river defences, combatting flood crisis, drainage and irrigation, etc. As a foreign-based individual being considered to be a potential Guyanese in the Diaspora, I would like once more to submit my opinion and to propose a lending hand of my services and assistance on such a meaningful project. Thus, as a retired Dutchtrained, -qualified, -oriented professional, with more than 20 years of experience in Hydrological Engineering, here in the Netherlands, I would like firstly to propose and to necessitate the availability of that which is of vital importance on such a relevant subject/project. My opinions and advice are on the following: 1: That the existing Demerara Harbour Bridge, be maintained on its present
geographical location and sustained on its present hydrological position; 2: That we beneficially make use of the present/ current floating “surfaced bridge bed-ridge”, on the existing floating pontoon systems; 3: That we totally remove the suspending floating buoys and the anchors that are firmly sitting on the river beds; 4: That we replace the anchor buoys, with
galvanised-steel piling on the head of each pontoon, which would be solidly piled/ ducked into the river-bed and surfaced about five metres overhead above the “existing/surfaced bridge bed-ridge” and supported above-across, with Xs’. The same systems that were used at the Berbice Harbour Bridge, only that the floating and flexible pontoons would be attached with “ballcup bearings” of 35-45cm. in diameter, attached to the
perpendicular galvanisedsteel piling, which would be stationary, while being cupped around with galvanised-steel tubes at a length of three metres. Such a project would be very much economical, in constructing and maintaining on a long term basis and most of all, siltation in the river would be eliminated by the feasible-tidal and torrentialcurrent flows. Rev. Surujlall Motilall (Ret. Hydrological Engineer, of Roosendaal, in the Netherlands)
We support the call for an impartial, independently constituted Commission of Inquiry DEAR EDITOR, The Canada Guyana Forum (CGF) vigorously condemns the reported use by the Guyana Police of excessive force in dealing with the July 18 assembly of citizens in Linden who were demonstrating their concerns against the rate increases for electricity supplies for domestic usage. The forces of law and
order of the State should have operated within the ambit of established rules of engagement in containing demonstrators with the use of force that would not have resulted in the three cases of deaths and injury to several other demonstrators who, from all available information, were unarmed and without harmful intentions. We ask the international
community to join us in expressing our deepest sympathies as we mourn with the families and those who have been injured. We support the call for an impartial, independently constituted Commission of Inquiry into the tragic events of July 18, and for the swift adoption and implementation of its recommendations. The Canada Guyana Forum