Georgetown : President Donald Ramotar has reacted to recent comments made by Opposition Leader David Granger about Guyana’s economic performance being tied to the illegal drug trade, deeming them an insult to all Guyanese.
The president, in an interview with Director of the Government Information Agency (GINA), Neaz Subhan described Granger’s comments as “a big insult to all the people who are working extremely hard, in order to promote and develop themselves as individuals and in the process, develop our country.”
He noted that these are general statements being made by the political opposition with any proof to substantiate them, adding that, “I would like him to point out among the line items, where is it that the drug money is”.
During his contribution to the Budget debate this week, Granger expressed the view that narco-trafficking is responsible for growth in Guyana.
President Ramotar said that he can point to the several investments such as those made by the rice farmers in particular. “They invest about $28 billion in the economy alone, is he (Granger) calling rice farmers drug people?”
These farmers invest heavily, annually, in equipment such as tractors and other agricultural equipment, at around $2 billion, rice millers spend around $10 billion also, he noted. He cited unionised sugar workers whose wages amount to $20 billion per year, the tourism sector which comes up to around $35 billion annually, and new house owners who spent around $50 billion last year.
“These are people who have been mortgaging things, going to the banks; the banks themselves would not have been giving them loans if they thought that they were drug traffickers,” the President noted.
The private housing developers spent about another $100 billion in developing housing schemes, upper end type of housing schemes, and people who worked in gold mining sector last year alone provided about $120B to the economy, he stated.
“Where is the drugs in all of this? This is why I think this is a major insult to a lot of the hard working people,” he said.
It was pointed out that government’s wages bill for public servants amounts to $38 billion annually while pensioners’ grants and public assistance amounted to about $8 billion last year.
“How could they talk about drugs fuelling this economy? This is obviously an attempt, on the part of the opposition to besmirch the good name of our country, to attack the good name of our country, to try to prevent foreign investors, without any facts”.
The president further explained that commercial banks loaned about $185 billion to the private sector last year and all of this was invested into the local economy. US$214 million or Gy $43 billion was invested by foreign companies in 2013, while remittances made a contribution to the economy of $66 billion, the president added.
For President Ramotar, an apology to the people of Guyana is needed from the main political opposition party, particularly Granger.
“He has pointed to nothing. Let him point to which building or business, he knows are narco driven in this country. What I know is what I’m telling you here about the investment in our country so I really find this very obnoxious and a total lack of appreciation for the hard working people of this country,” he reiterated.
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