The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) has considered caretaker President David Granger address on occasion of the New Year. In the opening of his address, Mr Granger told the nation that it “…is an exciting time to be alive and to be Guyanese”. We had to wonder whether the caretaker-in-chief was speaking to all Guyanese or just those ensconced in the bosom of power.
For the Guyanese working-people and their families, it is hardly any time for excitement. It is more a time for anxiety and despair, as they struggle on a daily basis to make their meager ends meet. Mr Granger said that the 2020’s would be a Decade of Development. He told the nation that economic growth will be accelerated as the “…the major sectors become stronger and more resilient…”. But it is the very Granger Administration, by its very policies, that has negatively affected several major sectors. We have seen the destruction in the sugar sector. The Federation is aware of the massive hikes in fees for land and for drainage in the agricultural sector. There has been the introduction of taxes on agricultural implements and inputs. We have seen how the poor and/or non-maintenance of interior roadways have deleteriously affected forestry and mining. They are several more examples that come to mind but we believe we have adequately made our point.
The caretaker President said too “…education and healthcare which will continue to improve…”. This is an unquestionable desire of all Guyanese, but we hasten to ask how those improvements will be beneficial when there are too many who cannot afford to send their children to school or afford to purchase their medicines. FITUG, on several occasions, has learnt of the horror stories where sick and injured Guyanese are turned away from health facilities because medication or personnel are unavailable. While the President talks about improved health-care it is his Government that imposed taxes on medicines and private health care.
The coming decade, Mr Granger said too, will see “…citizens having larger disposable incomes…”. We find this hard to believe when the Granger Government has sent home thousands of workers and their economic policies has resulted in many others losing their jobs. Moreover, we cannot ignore the pressing tax burdens which have seen taxation rising astronomically since 2015. We are told too that “…public servants’ emoluments continuing to grow to improve their standard of living”. Even the heavily touted 9 per cent pay rise to public servants last year was probably already gobbled up by the increased cost-of-living. By September, 2019, food prices, according to the Bureau of Statistics, had increased 6.3 per cent. But more than that, public servants right to Collective Bargaining, a right the APNU+AFC promised to uphold, continues to be disrespected though such rights are enshrined in our laws. But Mr Granger also ignores the thousands of workers in the non-state sector who also desire improved standard-of-living. Of course, such ignorance is not surprising considering the Government never had much sympathy for workers. Just look at what the Ministry of Labour is today.
Much of what Mr Granger said on New Years’ Day is what has been said before. It is largely a repetition of the unfulfilled Coalition 2015 manifesto. The only new element we recognize is the oil and gas sector which the President said would “…result in faster economic growth, increased employment and economic opportunities and larger fiscal revenues”. How this is really possible considering the arrangement we have for oil and gas? Even the estimated 86 per cent economic growth rate for 2020 has been significantly tempered by the IDB to just 39 per cent. But more importantly, the January 03, Kaieteur News repeated that “…86 percent of the total value of the reserves will go to the oil companies, while Guyana will get 14 percent”. It is clear, we got less than the short end of the proverbial stick and the Guyanese people are stuck with a clearly unfavourable arrangement. Even though commercial oil production has commenced, we are clearly unprepared for it as a country. It appears that the Granger Government is stumbling in the dark when it comes to oil and so many other important areas of national life.
Today, while Mr Granger goes around touting his Decade of Development, there is really not much to be excited about. We contend that development need not be confined to any time rather it is a perpetual process to uplift, improve and advance the well-being of our people. Of course, the Granger Government is known for its sloganeering, first promising the Guyanese people a ‘Good Life’ and now telling us about a ‘Decade of Development’.
