Racial politics greatest obstacle to Guyana's development -
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Racial politics greatest obstacle to Guyana's development -
Dr King
Plugs incentive package for remigrants
Stabroek News
April 19, 2000
The greatest obstacle to our social and economic development is a political one, which in Guyana, invariably meant racial, economist Dr Kenneth King says.
King, who over the past year has been working on the country's National Development Strategy (NDS), asserted that he was becoming more convinced that even if the strategy was the best that was conceivable, and even if each step towards the country's economic development was clearly spelt out, there would be little or no progress in Guyana unless the political problems were solved.
King was delivering the keynote address at the opening of a 'Social Compact Forum' organised by the Guyana Trades Union Congress in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD) at the Ocean View Hotel and Convention Centre at Liliendaal yesterday. King said that he wanted the race problem understood so that people could appreciate the problems of development in Guyana.
Apart from the politics and concomitant racial tension, King cited other constraints such as public utilities, especially telecommunication and electricity. While noting that both utilities had been privatised, he said that they both left much to be desired in terms of service. Outages were still the order of the day and the cost of power was still beyond the reach of many Guyanese. And although there had been much improvement in the telecommunication system since privatisation, the backlog of potential subscribers had grown exponentially, because of little or no competition in the telecommunication field.
King charged that the scarcity of telephones in the country inhibited the nation's ability to use the advances in information technology to assist in the country's administration, the education system, health practices, and in entirely new kinds of economic activity.
The third constraint, he opined, was the absence of an adequate road network in Guyana, the absence of which has led to higher costs in forestry and mining activities and in any kind of economic development pursued away from the coast.
Industrial unrest, too, he forwarded was a major problem and if Guyana was to survive in a globalised market it must become competitive.
One of the most important constraints, he said, was the quality of human resources. Guyana, he warned simply did not have critical masses of foresters, engineers, scientists, technologists, medical doctors, nurses, teachers at all levels, economists and policy analysts and computer specialists to do all the things to be accomplished in the next decade.
Stating that Guyana needed human resources quickly, he said that technical assistance from international agencies and other friendly donors must be negotiated. Detailed schemes for attracting overseas Guyanese back home must be formulated, he said noting that it was conservatively estimated that there are about 750,000 persons of Guyanese nationality abroad. Pointing out that many are highly qualified, he said that incentive packages, either to get them to remigrate or to come home for specific periods for specific jobs must be devised.
All the country's problems he noted were "almost circular". While the country was relatively economically backward he said, there were profound economic disparities in our country, both among the regions and among the races; these provide some of the fuel for ethnic and political strikes and street protests and other forms of economic violence which in turn result in the decline of economic activity, economic growth and general economic development.
He noted that over the past two years there had not been a protracted period during which there had been no political strife of one sort or another; street demonstrations that have not always been entirely peaceful and industrial unrest. King said that what had been even more frightening than these physical displays of societal disaffection were the rumours of impending doom which were discussed in every strata of society and the almost palpable tension pervading the country.
Noting that confrontation was basically sought as the solution to the problems, King lamented that "there does not seem to be a meeting of the mind on any matter. There does not appear to be any political or social compact."
Referring to the country's strengths, its background and potential, he said that one of the world's least populated countries in relation to its geographic space had become a cramped society, characterised by small horizons and bedevilled by self-doubt. By not expanding transport and energy systems into the interior "we have allowed ourselves to become crammed into a narrow, retreating coastal zone, trapped between seawall and backdam."
Guyanese, he said, had too many self-imposed restrictions which included looking instinctively to government instead of "looking to ourselves for charting and following our own courses. We are not a confident, self-assured civil society. We have become captive to our own racial and political stereotypes."
He reiterated that freedom from the self-imposed restrictions meant expanding the geographic interior; extending the civic and private sectors; and putting central government in its proper roles of policy maker and regulator. It also required the strengthening of local government systems and resisting appeals to act and react on the basis of race.
Putting the political economy of the country in context, King argued that Guyana still depended more or less on the same crops it had been producing over the past 150 years; was basically two countries, one on the coast and one in the interior with very few cultural and physical linkages; and its population was "still distinct ethnic groups which in times of stress, unhealthily oppose each other."
In addition, he pointed out, the country still utilised "albeit inefficiently, the institutions which were designed for different times and with different purposes and objectives in mind."
Overcoming constraints to development, he said, also meant further widening of the economy from the narrow base of sugar, rice and minerals on which it had rested for years; drastically diversifying agriculture; moving from a predominantly agricultural society to an agro-industrial economy; utilising all available technology rapidly to modernise the country and becoming exceedingly competitive if "we are to even exist in this globalised world."
The NDS, King posited, would provide a policy framework and guidelines for the country's development during the first decade of the twenty-first century and a blueprint for the attainment of a wide-ranging set of objectives. These included poverty alleviation, geographical unity and equitable geographical distribution of economic activity and diversifying the economy and could only be achieved if certain conditions were put in place.
To achieve these goals, Dr King contended, there must be a greater degree of political inclusivity in the governance of the country, greater productivity and the educational system must be re-examined, and in its reform, advantage must be taken of information technology. (Miranda La Rose)
