Mr Granger is a “stranger to the truth”

Dear Editor,
I must confess, I watched the APNU launch at D’Urban Park from a purely academic angle to see what substance the APNU leaders have but I was in for a serious shock. From all indications, the crowd came energised to enjoy a Farmer Nappy concert and to receive a charge from their political leaders but were they in for a surprise also. The concert was what it was – a concert; but the political messages were flat and lacked conviction.

I was also stunned at how disconnected Mr David Granger’s rhetoric was from reality. From the public statements he made that night, one is struck by how out of touch he was to the happenings on the ground. Heaven forbids if we are trapped with him in office after March 2, 2020, because I do not know how this country will survive another year of his policy paralysis? What is clear is that the road to a new Guyana appears today littered with the wreckage from the actions of Team Granger.

Let us look no further than the evidence as sourced from the Bank of Guyana on the importation of capital goods into the economy. From the day Mr David Granger arrived in the office in May 2015 to the end of December 2019, Guyana reduced its import of (non-oil related) capital equipment by some US$30 million.

What does this mean for Guyana? When a nation imports capital equipment, there are more opportunities for technology transfer than with the importation of intermediate goods. Because of this decline, unfortunately, Guyana has lost that opportunity to enhance its productivity and competitiveness. I have spoken to several private sector players and very few of them are investing and if they are, it is happening as fringe partners to bigger companies in the oil and gas (O&G) sector. Such a situation will have long-term detrimental consequences for the nation when it comes to lifting the nation’s productive capacity. But from his message at D’Urban Park, clearly, Mr Granger does not care and is more interested in deceiving the listeners with his empty thoughtset of the “good life”.
So while the national figures point to a situation where all and sundry are investing in the O&G sector which was not included in the graph above for consistency sake, most of that O&G investment is being done offshore and has a negligible direct impact on the lives of the Guyanese people save and except from the approximately 1.5% of the investment associated with the local players. So this O&G sector is a stranger to the pockets of the ordinary folks living in Guyana save and except for the few businesses that were lucky enough to qualify for some small opportunities in that sector. I want to take this opportunity to again caution the Guyanese nation, real oil funds will not hit the ordinary people until about 2024 and beyond. So do not be misled by Mr Granger and count on these oil funds before that time.
So Mr Granger and his vocal gimmickry regarding the “decade of development” is a mere act of subterfuge and deception. But the youths of Guyana in this modern age of the Internet will not fall for another of his political illusions. With a click of a button today, many of the youths are finding out that Mr Granger is a “stranger to the truth”.

Regards,
Sasenarine Singh