An upside down, wrongsided country

Matters are going in the wrong direction in Guyana.  There is clear reversal in how events are unfolding here, how they should not be.  I urge every Guyanese with a mind still open and free to clear thinking to review where we are, where we are going, and what does this say about the management of this country by the government of the day.

Guyana is hailed and applauded for being the fastest growing economy in the world.  Imagine that, about dear ole Guyana, our own beautiful Guyana.  Venezuelans are rushing here because things are very tough in their country.  Trinidadians flock here to see what opportunities they can pick up, who they can partner with, and how they can prosper from the riches that are now so abundant in this country.  The foreigners from America, Canada, the UK, and other parts of Europe all rush here to checkout and fall in on some deal that does well for their companies and shareholders.

From Asia, the Chinese and Indians scout for what is here for them, and they like what they see, and what they get.  From Africa, a few from Ghana have a foot inside the Guyana door.  And from the Middle East, the desert sheiks and princes seal deals that are favorable to their interests.  Reports are that even the Israelis are here.  Considering their proven prowess in certain areas, it is not surprising, given that there is a PPP Government that is so insecure that it has to know what people are saying, and what is going on in their heads.

The present context of Guyana is that it is a magnet for foreigners drawn like hungry cats to easily available milk.  Who would not want to explore a land where milk and honey overflow?  Fastest growing economy anywhere on earth.  Biggest Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  The best and brightest in terms of potential.  A country with many money trees, and lots of low hanging fruit waiting to be plucked.  Ah, the taste!  Oh, the endless prospects….

In such circumstances, it stands to reason that the native-born population is making out like kings and queens.  Since everybody from everywhere is running here, then it could only be that Guyanese are doing very well, existing in a manner befitting people who have all those beautiful and inspiring economic labels attached to their country, which means they themselves have much good going for them.  Banish all those thoughts.  Be done with any such calculations.  Dismiss all such conclusions.

In this upside down, topsy-turvy, reverse order country, things have been turned on their heads, as the truth is the other way around.  Foreigners are flocking to Guyana, and Guyanese are fleeing for any rescuing harbor that they can find, any place that will accept them.  The foreigners are coming, and Guyanese are going.  Nobody leaves what is good, to test the waters of the unknown, the challenging and frightening.  But this is what underpaid, underappreciated, and underestimated public servants are doing.

They are going from Guyana as fast as their feet can carry them.  They are running from a place deemed to be the richest to what they do not know, what they hope will be better than home, where they are treated better, and where the potential for survival and making it is better.  In the richest place, public servants are among the poorest paid, most poorly treated, dealt the poorest prospects.  So, they pack up and pushout.  In the richest country in the world, this is their reality.  But they are not alone.

On any given business day, I invite my fellow Guyanese to travel to Kingston, and pass by the American Consulate on Duke Street, and there they are.  There are Cubans and others lining up, and waiting and hoping.  A nod of approval.  A stamp in a travel document.  But they are not the only ones.  For, among those waiting on the street, and those gathered on the inside of the Consulate, there is the usual swell of PPP supporters.

They are running too.  Even when their own are in the seat of government, with all the power and all the money in their hands.  This is the level of confidence in those in charge of the country and oil and the economy.  According to various sources, the population of Guyana is 817,000 (UN and IMF); or 900,000 or a million (sometimes from those who should know, other times from those who don’t).  My number is somewhere between 780,000 and 850,000.  But with Guyanese racing to get away from here, it confirms the steady influx of foreigners.

To repeat: people don’t run from what is good, but what is crippling to, and bad for, them.  A case could be made for discrimination, through unequal and unfair treatment; another for cronyism, which effectively bars most public servants; still another for willful neglect and callousness of the first order.  Bottom line: foreigners run here, Guyanese runaway from here.  At this time, in this age of oil, this is a disgrace for any government.  For the PPP Government, it is rotten egg on its cheeks that smell heavily about the uneven manner in which it has run this country.