We understand that the regulation of global commodity prices may not be your forte and you are more tied up with stockings and toys right now, but please give a few minutes for our list of wishes for 2005.
First what we don't wish for this year: A hydropower project or even the Berbice river bridge. Not that we don't want them but we understand that wishes must be realistic or risk perpetual disappointment, like an empty stocking. We also understand that certain big projects in small countries will find it nearly impossible to overcome the hurdles of financing. Let us first fix what is there already and if they come then all well and good but let us not pin our hopes on such dreams.
Instead our Number One wish is that all commodity prices - except fuel - remain high forever and ever...or at least until December 2005. Rice, gold, sugar and bauxite - the pillars of this economy - have all effectively risen in the past year by, in some cases, as much as 50%. May it continue and please Santa, see what you can do with seafood prices.
We also wish that the new private investments in the bauxite sector worth US$30M are blessed with peaceful industrial relations and strong global demand. (On that note, everyone pray for the health of the Chinese economy).
Talks on rearranging the European Union's sugar regime are set to begin proper in May. There are many countries and powerful lobby groups in Europe, all with different agendas. So we wish that this creates a benign paralysis which brings no immediate resolution. At least well into 2006 so Guyana can enjoy exports at premium prices under a strong Euro, while hastily constructing the Skeldon estate and improving costs of production. In the long term we hope you can convince the EU to see the vital importance that sugar plays in all developing countries, not just the poorest, both economically and socially, and to consider this when formulating a new trade regime. And while we are at it we hope you can advise the World Bank and the IMF to stop harping on about closing the Demerara Estates.
We wish, no we insist, that Jamaica continues to import Guyana's rice before all others' and that US subsidiaries of subsidized multinationals are never allowed to pull another fast one and get tariff waivers on extra regional imports. In this regard we pray for Caricom's wisdom to see that it must bend over backward for member states' industries, for that is how the region will become strong.
Next we wish that businessmen have the courage to embark on new ventures, looking to break the mould and take risks rather than playing it safe. At the same time we hope the banking sector will support such ventures by offering financing at reasonable rates. We pray that the spread between the saving and lending rates goes below its current 11% and please let the bank managers see that their institutions are not just islands garnering record profits for their shareholders but also integral parts of private sector development.
We also wish that CEOs of public companies view with less suspicion the workings of the stock exchange and understand it is a vital mechanism in any free market economy. But we also wish the exchange begins to educate the wider public on its role as that is the route to greater volume. Finally, Santa we wish for peace... the obvious kind where people are able to carry on productive lives free from violence... but also the kind that comes when people seek "dialogue not confrontation". And we wish for the peace that comes when a country is at least heading in the direction where prosperity can benefit all of its people.
Too much to ask for? We should expect nothing less.