State of the State

Given the uniqueness (for us) of the results delivered at our last elections, President Ramotar’s inaugural address to the National Assembly was salutary for several reasons. There was first of all the need to remind the leadership of this country – not just the political elite present in parliament – of what is at stake at this crucial juncture in our nation’s history. There is the choice between gridlock and stagnation versus progress and growth.

There was the choice between placing the needs of the nation in the forefront versus narrow partisan interests.

As the president said, “Today we are on another open path. I believe that we are at the threshold of a rapid development that can take us to great heights. I urge that we must not miss this opportunity and allow our country to traverse the narrow and difficult roads again”.

In our estimation, the gist of the speech was to remind everyone of the ‘state of the state’ that has been delivered by the administration of ex-President Jagdeo, which makes the attainment of ‘great heights’ possible. President Ramotar first placed Guyana within its international environment that has played and will continue to play such a key role in our development.

The major point was the opportunity presented to us by our geographical proximity to Brazil and the rest of South America. Major initiatives that include infrastructural integration, trade linkages and political cooperation have already been launched and they must be maintained and intensified. Appropriate credit was given to ex-President Jagdeo for the role he played in creating an international space for Guyana in the major global initiative of climate change alleviation.

Even though the naysayers in and out of Parliament would have it otherwise, the gains that our economy has undergone since 1992 are nothing less than startling. A tripling of the GNP; an eightfold increase in per capita income; a halving in the crippling external debt; a comfortable position in external reserves – all achieved with inflation kept in single digits is exemplary in any part of the world. But especially so in a country where internal political and criminal elements spent most of the last decade in waging a vicious armed struggle to destabilise the state.

The latter insurrection was decapitated by the previous administration and makes it possible for us to achieve “great heights”. Looking forward, the president highlighted the role that a secure and affordable energy source is for the future growth of our economy. Just before his speech, the president had acceded to the request of the opposition to be briefed on the Amaila Falls Hydro project, and it is our hope that they will not oppose for the sake of opposing this project.

While locating himself firmly in the tradition of his party – always unabashedly oriented towards the ‘working class” – President Ramotar was just as vociferous in his support for businesses to remain as the engine of growth for the economy. He accepted that at this juncture, the working class can best be served by providing them with high paying jobs.

The president was refreshingly not doctrinaire in the exact business model: “We must not rule out any forms of organisation of production of goods and services. We will embrace large and small companies, public and privately owned firms. All have advantages.”

Accepting the need for both foreign and domestic investments, the president stressed the need for our ‘human capital’ to be developed. This approach, of course, centres our developmental efforts on people and not goods but simultaneously ensure the most efficient production and delivery of the latter. He highlighted the structural changes that have been made in the educational system and with the potential for a quantum leap through integration of the One Lap Per Family (OLPF) initiative.

While the president did not mention it, institutions such as the University of Guyana (UG) will have to change with the times or risk being left behind.