Nabobs of Negativity

Opposition’s wilful blindness

Some say that that a pessimist is one who sees a cup “half-empty” rather than “half-full”. So what do you call someone who calls the same cup ‘completely empty’? The Guyana Opposition, that’s what. And this is one of the major reasons why politics is so intractably conflictual in our country.  The opposition will just not concede that the government does anything right.
Take the IMF which just released one of its periodic reviews of the Guyanese economy. The organisation, as is usual, looked at the macroeconomic picture and made some recommendations where they saw pertinent. In addition to commending Guyana’s 3.7 per cent GDP growth rate, etc, the “executive directors commended the authorities’ policies that have supported macroeconomic resilience and sustained growth”.
This was in line with their compliment of July 27: “Despite a deteriorating external environment, including the deepening eurozone crisis, Guyana’s economy continues to be resilient.”  At that time they also said, “Going forward, infrastructure projects led by construction of the hydro- power plant at Amaila Falls (AFHP) along with private mining investments should sustain growth levels at around five per cent.”
In the latest report, the directors noted: “Directors looked forward to measures to boost the efficiency of public enterprises and steps to ensure that the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) is economically viable. They recommended careful consideration of the risks and contingent liabilities arising from that project, and welcomed the authorities’ efforts to pursue international best practices in its management.”
Imagine that this routine, everyday caution was promptly seized by the opposition APNU and AFC to claim that their Chicken Little – “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” routine on the AFHP was vindicated! They’re back on their opposition Muckraker cohort’s bandwagon of bashing the AFHP even though the government had earlier on, shared all the contract details with them and they’d declared themselves ‘satisfied’.
Does the opposition really believe the government isn’t aware that for the largest investment in the country’s history – by some distance – it has to take “careful consideration of the risks and contingent liabilities arising from that project”? What about the IMF’s compliment about “the authorities’ efforts to pursue international best practices in its management??”
The opposition is concerned about the costs of the project. So is the government! We had previously challenged the opposition to suggest how the costs could be brought down rather than simply criticising the present arrangements. Do they really think the IDB is not looking at this aspect right now?

AFC’s perfidy
To justify using the IMF’s innocuous statement in its attacks on the AFHP, AFC’s leader Ramjattan boasted: “The economists from that organisation surely know what they are saying.” Well, they surely do. So did Ramjattan notice the IMF had warned about the “fiscal deficit” of 2011 widening because of public sector salary increases; increases in income tax thresholds and higher oil prices?
So, here he is objecting to AFHP which would lower our dependence on petroleum imports! And in its cover letter to the minister of finance of its budget suggestions, Ramjattan explained that he had to make sure “the needs and interests of its constituents” are protected. So he called for even higher salary increases this year for public servants in a blatant manoeuvre to woo them!! APNU would be happy to note that public servants are now AFC’s constituency!
And Ramjattan’s also back on the populist bandwagon to demand lowering the VAT rate. Does he know what that will do to our “fiscal deficit” which the “knowledgeable” IMF economists warned about? But why worry? Consistency has never been a feature of the AFC wankers.