Jagdeo warns of “Dutch Disease” if other sectors forsaken

Georgetown: Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo on Friday warned Government of the resource curse and focusing only on oil revenue while forsaking other sectors will only lead the masses into in poverty, inequality, and deprivation.

At a press conference he hosted at his Church Street Office, the opposition leader said there is a real possibility of Guyana ending up in a worst position “like what has happened in many countries, we don’t need to look at Guyana, oil could be a blessing or it could be a curse.”

He continued: “It’s a curse if you misspend the money and change relative price and kill off the other sectors of your economy that generate jobs and wealth for the people, and that has happened so often in many countries.”

Jagdeo said the Government had promised local content legislation and a sovereign wealth fund which is yet to be done.

Noting that if there is no transparency with the oil contract and funds, Jagdeo said there will be “a few people that get very wealthy and you will have a lot of people that are very poor.”

He said there should be a bipartisan approach if government is serious about serving the interest of Guyanese as many issues of a technical nature pertaining to the oil find has not be touched.

“Where it matters the government is not focusing their attention, they are just busy going around pumping up people’s expectations without addressing the technical issues that need to be addressed,” Jagdeo said.

Further, Jagdeo pointed to the proposed onshore base at crab-island that is to provide support services for the oil industry. He said this is counterproductive to expert recommendations that states it will be a failed venture since recouping the investments and making a profit is highly unlikely.

According to Jagdeo ExxonMobil has already publicly stated it has no plans on utilizing such a facility and questioned where the administration would find an investor to put in the US$500M touted by the administration.

Turning his attention to Minister Trotman, Jagdeo said the Minister does not have a clear idea as to what is taking place, evident in his numerous contradicting statements.

The former president suggested that in order for the administration to clearly outline its plans, it will require clarity and they will be called on to explain and provide details, something which the government does seem comfortable doing.