tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-113262442024-02-06T22:14:58.822-04:00Guyana's Overstream - Where Guyana comes to think......Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11326244.post-68590428895370701992008-08-27T13:51:00.000-04:002008-08-27T13:57:29.723-04:00What I've been up toI'd like to apologize for having been on hiatus for awhile. The job I expected to get after graduation didn't come through. I came back from Guyana with a wonderful 10 acre lot in my mind up on the highway and I have been arranging to get into graduate school and move my family to another state. I apologize for not bringing any excellent material or rhetoric your way since then. I will try to be forthcoming in the near future and also positive. I realize that it's easy to get pessimistic when you look at the reality of the situation in Guyana. I'm going to resume my efforts to bring new things to the mix of Guyanese politics, be sharp and try to keep things as bright and cheery as I possibly can whilst I do all of it. Also I may start podcasting about Guyana. More on that later. <br /><br />Cheers to all<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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The very system of democracy perpetuates the friction that has existed since so long ago.<br /><br />Benjamin Franklin once said that democracy was two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for dinner.<br /><br />Winston Churchill once said </span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;font-size:100%;" >"Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried."<br /><br />Let's cut right to the bone here. Democracy is popularity. Populism is LESS likely to abridge people's rights as often as a monarch or a dictator and will generally unseat anyone who isn't popular.<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><br />I imagine that in a nation where everyone has a common heritage and race and religion etc, The evils of democracy are less visible.<br /><br />This melts away in a multi-ethnic system. If you can see a block of people taking away your rights and they are of a different color from you .....it's perceived differently. I don't know that there is any way to overcome this other than power sharing, because only then would people realize that ALL the politicians were abridging their rights......so they can be dissatisfied with all of them. But power sharing would be undemocratic now wouldn't it? The most popular candidate and/or party should have the most power shouldn't he/they?<br /><br />Do you see the catch-22 situation here? Democracy is the "least worst" and what is popular may sometimes be the least evil but the way it is done with ethnically-based parties perpetuates feelings and social dynamics that threaten peace and democracy.<br /><br />What's the solution? I think it would go a long way for the individual to be brought back into politics.<br /><br />Democracy works best when it has much less power to abridge the rights of individuals or give special treatment to one group of individuals over another.<br /><br />Democracy can even be GREAT when there are codified RIGHTS which aren't abridged by the government.<br /><br />Government works best when is has less power in general.<br /><br />Would someone mistrust the dominant ethnic group that had control of government if government had little or no power to intervene in his life against his own will?<br /><br />The very essence of government that makes groups covet it and other groups despise it is its <b>virtual monopoly on the use of coercive power</b> to enforce popular laws, tax money and shape society through legislation.<br /><br />If racial relations are better on the person-to-person societal level than on a governmental level, find things that the government doesn't need to be doing and let other consensual entities in society like charities and businesses take over. If there is a demand for the particular service, then they will find a way to get funding. If the market finds no use for the services, then maybe government shouldn't be doing them in the first place.<br /><br />For those who love and have more faith in government and its power to wield coercive force on others, your faith in government may yield more efficient government someday but in the meantime stop expecting racial harmony.<br /><br />The path to prosperity in Guyana isn't more planning and combating poverty. Government planning means sub planting the plans of a bureaucrat's over the plans of an individual. Combating poverty just redistributes wealth..often from one GROUP to another. It is, in my opinion, fallacious to expect people of different races to choose to get along with each other via the coercive power of the state.<br /><br />The path to prosperity for Guyana is wealth creation (not poverty alleviation) and individual rights. The most prosperous places have few natural resources and many rights and freedoms! Hong Kong, Singapore, the cayman islands and others were forced by scarcity to come up with other ways to create wealth and they did so out of thin air (!) by codifying more rights and exercising less government power to coerce and tax.<br /><br />Have you ever thought that creating a free and prosperous Guyana meant less government and less laws and less and less and less of most things that government cooks up?<br /><br />Less really is more.<br /><br />Free the individual.<br /><br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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I would ask that you keep this column for future reference as we get closer to oil: </p> <p align="left"><strong>For as long as I can remember, I've always asked myself how our country can have so much natural wealth but still be poor? Guyana is suffering from what academics call the 'resource curse' </strong>. This happens when a country's economy becomes too dependent on primary exports like oil and sugar, sugar in our case. It's more likely to happen in a country with institutions that lack transparency and caring leadership for all. </p> <p align="left">A resource state's incentives are to keep the handful of export producers happy. In this situation, voters and the private sector commonly find themselves subject to a government that isn't as accountable to them as it is to the sugar or oil company. When commodity prices fall, the economy falters and lacks a private sector strong enough to pick up the slack. Normal economic growth needs a healthy private sector, which requires predictable enforcement of laws, contracts, property rights and an open economy. This is often absent in a resource state. </p> <p align="left"><strong>A functioning democracy requires that the government be dependent on the electorate for tax revenue </strong>. The government produces accountability in exchange for this. This accountability creates trust and legitimacy. It is absent, though, when a government gets enough of its funding from resource rents. In this situation, various groups fight for their 'fair share' of the resource rents at the government level. When the resource wealth gets distributed according to politics, that's when widespread ethnic conflict and political instability take place. </p> <p align="left">UK journalist Nicholas Shaxson says: " If citizens had the oil money in the first place, and the state had to bargain with them to get its cut, it seems likely that would change the game entirely." </p> <p align="left"><strong>Maclean's Magazine of Canada has said that Guyana may be able to eventually match Kuwait's annual oil production of 500 million Barrels </strong>. However <strong>, if only one tenth of that amount is produced </strong> and royalties are 55 percent, at US$100.00 per barrel, that means an average annual payment of roughly $US3600.00 per person or $US300.00 a month. </p> <p align="left"><strong>Do you want that HUGE AMOUNT to go to the government? </strong></p> <p align="left"><strong>For the future, I STRONGLY recommend the following: </strong></p> <p align="left">• Amend our constitution to state that ALL natural resources belong to Guyana 's <strong>citizens . </strong></p> <p align="left">• Let each Guyanese choose at which bank to have their royalties deposited. </p> <p align="left">• Have CGX (or any extractor) publicly state each payment and pay it directly to the banks. </p> <p align="left">• Tax only withdrawals of principal to encourage saving and investment. </p> <p align="left">• Allow banks to issue credit to citizens based on all types of income. </p> <p align="left">• Enjoy an economy bursting with energy, life, HOPE and PROSPERITY for ALL. </p> <p align="left">“The people may get lazy,” you say. Is that worse than government using all the money to selectively bless others with laziness?<br /> <br />”Well people may waste the money,” you say again. Does the government have the monopoly on being wasteful? People spend according to their priorities. Governments spend money on what is politically expedient. We should be asking if people are more wasteful than the government. </p> <p align="left">“Well what about infrastructure?” <strong>The government will get REVENUES through taxation </strong>. That should be enough to build infrastructure and buy some accountability. That would be a very merry Christmas indeed for ALL. </p> <p align="left"><strong>Our Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas with a Healthy and Prosperous 2008. </strong></p> <p align="left"> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11326244.post-54359586167865381772007-12-01T20:51:00.000-04:002007-12-02T20:01:10.297-04:00Avoiding death from oil and treesYesterday the Stabroek News reported that President President Bharrat Jagdeo had successfully pitched his proposal that Guyana be compensated for its standing rainforests. <br /><br />I want to highlight the similarities between this and earning foreign exchange from oil production, or any primary material extracted from public land for that matter.<br /><br />Both would yield revenue streams directly to the government for activity that is not tied to efforts to produce something. Economic data show that revenue associated with production of goods and services is associated with economic growth whereas revenue derived from natural resource exploitation is associated with slow or even negative economic growth, especially in countries with poor institutions and democratic records.<br /><br />Natural resource revenue is often derived by not doing much more than allowing a company to drill and getting a cut from it. This causes what has been called, 'the manna-from-heaven' effect. Since production friendly policies and practices are not required in order to gain this revenue, the country's institutions are geared toward dividing the spoils. The private sector of a country in this situation usually languishes not only because the government does not need it to get most of its revenue, but also because the appreciation of the country's currency on the world market makes the country's manufactured exports less competitive on the the world market. This effect is known as 'Dutch disease'.<br /><br />The whole point of expounding this 'resource curse' in relation to Guyana's solicitation of compensation for maintaining standing forests, is to show that it doesn't matter if it's oil extracted by CGX or carbon credit compensation.<br /><br />Both generate a stream of revenue directly to the government. This revenue that doesn't come from the tax paying electorate can, and usually is, spent without public oversight. The government in power has incentives to divide this 'manna from heaven' in ways that are politically important to the regime in power.<br /><br />Oftentimes what's politically important includes spreading the wealth around, only just enough to stay in power. For the political opposition it often ends up as a never-ending dream punctuated only by lost elections. For the powerless public it means the likelihood of greater chances of gaining prosperity by knowing someone in government rather than through honest labour and enterprise.<br /><br />People lose trust in a system in which windfall natural resource revenue encourages corruption and discourages transparency. Resource states often don't have the incentive to enforce contracts in a predictable manner nor to protect property rights. The government will get paid the same regardless. This is the seedbed out of which talent drains.<br /><br />Guyana's future carbon credit revenue, while having environmental benefits will have the same basic political and economic effects as oil revenue. It fits nicely into the government's business plan. The government engages in self-interested capitalism when it seeks to sell standing or felled trees, oil, gold, diamonds, etc. on the world market. The more profit it gains from this, the more incentive it has to stay in power and use undemocratic means to do so.<br /><br />This places it in diametric opposition to the interests of the electorate who demand accountability, transparency, responsiveness and development.<br /><br />Dr. Martin E. Sandbu at the University of Pennsylvania recommends that a populace check its government and avoid many elements of the resource curse by mandating that all natural wealth revenues be disbursed directly to the electorate via natural wealth accounts (NWA's). Each voting citizen would get a statement in the mail at regular intervals stating how much money was deposited into his or her personal account and how much was taxed by the government. Experience shows that governments funded by taxing their populations are far more accountable and have better institutions. This is because the people feel the pinch of taxation. People don't feel any pinch when resource rents are paid directly to the government because they don't see it as forgone income. Promoting the pinch of taxation usually promotes more vigilance on the part of the electorate.<br /><br />If all governments fundamentally exist at the consent of the governed, then taxation ties the two together in a more intimate relationship than would exist if the government didn't need to fund itself out of the peoples' pockets. Is it any wonder there is a disconnect between the government and the governed when the government of Guyana gains most of its revenue from a handful of sectors that are composed of a handful of players. When the government can fund itself by keeping a small number of people happy, it has no incentive to be very answerable to the rest.<br /><br />National Wealth Accounts or NWA's, may also achieve something that would most likely be done in a much less equal and inefficient fashion by the government; ensuring that all citizens benefit from natural resource revenue. Instead of funneling the spoils to those who promise to support the incumbent regime, an NWA system would at least split the revenue evenly amongst all the resident citizens of voting age. This will go a long way toward healing the ethnic and class divisions in Guyanese society. All will be elevated by an equal amount.<br /><br />This system will not only grow our economy, but also mitigate the effect of having hords of special interest groups descending upon the government wanting their own slice of the manna pie. If the only revenue the government has is tax revenue, there is more responsibility attached to it. Though there will always be special interest groups running after government money, at least they may get to it after the rest of the citizens have handled it first. However, depending on the total amount of evenly distributed revenue, the NWA system may even mitigate the need for special interests groups to form and seek public money.<br /><br />A Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge at Yale University wrote a perceptive letter to the editor at Stabroek News that got published on the 30th of November. A truncated version is as follows:<br /><br />"Our government - though I think that they have long lost the moral right to be called a government-- has become a haven for gun toting ministers and corrupt officials.<br /><br />The people to whom we look to protect us, are led in some cases by men more criminally minded than those they are charged with arresting." (...)<br /><br />"I am beginning to think that the cancer has spread so far that more drastic action may be needed. Guyana needs a vision. We need to feel like our leaders are taking us somewhere.<br /><br />The government it seems has no long-term vision for Guyana. Like all political parties in Guyana today they seem only interested in power and little else." (...)<br /><br />"Each one [lost opportunity for development] is a slap in the face of the Guyanese people from an incompetent government, each one a stinging reminder of where this malaise originated. Without vision and direction no nation can achieve its destiny.<br /><br />It seems that Guyana is unique, in that on more than one occasion, due to poor leadership, we have missed our rendezvous with destiny."<br /><br />Yours faithfully,<br /><br />Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge<br /><br /><br />I would put forth to my fellow mourner Kwesi, that all governments are composed of people who are mostly interested in maximizing their own personal benefit and that of those who support them. The only way to change the outcome is to drastically change the incentives they respond to.<br /><br />The government of Guyana will be far more interested in the thoughts, feelings, desires and aspirations of our people when our people have the money derived from the natural bounty of our country. In this new game, the government will be tasked with raising its funding from the electorate with their consent.<br /><br />Join me in proclaiming that Guyana's natural exports of gold, diamonds, minerals of all kinds, standing or felled lumber, fossil fuels and (maybe in the future) water exploited from the public domain, all belong to the citizens of Guyana first. The government may partake of the citizens' revenues at the discretion of the same, to be determined by fair and transparent political processes.<br /><br />Altogether, Guyana has more natural resources on a per capita basis, than just about any other country in the world. Are we going to let them curse us or bless us? On one hand we have a government that grabs the spoils and spends them according it their own incentives. On the other hand we have a system that protects the right of the individual citizen to spend or save his/her share of the revenue according to personal incentives.<br /><br />Anything less with be a half measure that leaves Guyana fundamentally similar to the one we have today. The Guyana we have today is not the abode of most Guyanese, so I think the votes have been counted in that regard.<br /><br />Kwesi cites the lack of vision on the part of our leadership. I will put forth idea that the people of Guyana the ones who need to have the vision that leads along the path in which the government is not standing in the way. Their job is to figure out how to tax the fruits of this vision in an accountable manner to fund the institutions that protect our safety, liberty property and one that results in the predictable enforcement of contracts between citizens. Any further governmental responsibilities exist at the discretion and oversight of the people.<br /><br />My vision of the future is that of a world in which people will feel lucky for having been born or married into the family of Guyana. The blessings we will have will result in the voluntary re-location of educated and skilled Guyanese back home to partake of these blessings. This will result in Guyana having the most varied human skill-set of any country in the region. Due to Guyana's natural endowments, people and opportunities derived from her relative location between two very large economies, Guyana will wield a regional and global influence disproportionate to her size and population. I call this day 'The Golden Age of Guyana'.<br /><br />JC Bollers<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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People like us should keep in touch.<br /><br />As far as the content of Mr. <span class="bodycopy"><span class="bodyheader2">Sansculotte-Greenidge's letter, I would say that the machinations of the current regime in Guyana are those characteristic of one that is more concerned with conserving the status quo that bettering the country. The concept of development in this model is employed only to the extent that Guyana doesn't fall SO far behind that instability results in shaking the political tree. It's all bout keeping what they have. I think that Guyana has many people with vision and motivation. We simply lack the necessary forum to plan and coordinate. More importantly, we need a framework that brings various interests and entities together in such a way as to help us to stick together instead of flying apart like what happened in 2006. This needs to come into being ASAP. 2001 may be the last time we have a chance to sell a real vision to Guyana and place it on a path prosperity. </span></span><br /><br /><span class="bodycopy"><span class="bodyheader2">"Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge</span> was born and raised in Guyana, South America, but has lived in numerous locations ranging from Dominica to the Netherlands, Barbados to Belgium and Trinidad to England. After completing his high school education, Kwesi enrolled at the University of Guyana, where he studied World History, and also taught Caribbean and Latin American history at the high school level. In 1998 he transferred to the University of Durham in England where he received his B.A. (´01) with Honours in Human Sciences. While studying in Durham, Kwesi undertook two months of field work in the forests and savannahs of Guyana and Brazil in order to write his dissertation on the religious practices of an Indian community in the region. Prior to enrolling at Yale, Kwesi traveled extensively in Egypt and the Sudan, living with Nubian and Beja communities along the Egyptian and Sudanese Nile and Red Sea. While at Yale he has focused on the methods used by north east African states to deal with and/or accommodate ethnic diversity, and the way ethnic minorities try to engage the political systems of the region. In 2002 he spent three months in Ethiopia conducting field work in Ethiopia on Ethiopian ethnic federalism. Kwesi hopes to continue on to pursue a doctorate in Political Science or work in the non-profit sector focusing on decentralization techniques."<br /></span><br /><br />Guyana seems to have lost its way<br />Friday, November 30th 2007<br /><br /><br />Dear Editor,<br /><br />I have always imagined the birth of a nation to be a chaotic event. I suppose the death cannot be much different. I imagine that like me, many other Guyanese are also confused as to what exactly has gone wrong with our great nation. I know there are those who would argue that everything is fine, but let us be honest with ourselves my brothers and sisters, Guyana is in trouble.<br /><br />Our government - though I think that they have long lost the moral right to be called a government-- has become a haven for gun toting ministers and corrupt officials.<br /><br />The people to whom we look to protect us, are led in some cases by men more criminally minded than those they are charged with arresting.<br /><br />More recently, our minister of local government showed us the calibre of people running our beloved nation. So I ask what is really going on in Guyana?<br /><br />It is my suspicion that this general lawlessness is a symptom of a greater sickness afflicting this country, a malaise that has crept into our bones and hearts. Guyana has lost its way.<br /><br />In St Martin and Cayenne mothers warn their sons about 'Guyanese love', that is girls who marry you just to stay on the island. Many Guyanese both at home and abroad ask what can be done to rectify this situation. Some call for a change in government, others a new political force.<br /><br />I am beginning to think that the cancer has spread so far that more drastic action may be needed. Guyana needs a vision. We need to feel like our leaders are taking us somewhere.<br /><br />The government it seems has no long-term vision for Guyana. Like all political parties in Guyana today they seem only interested in power and little else.<br /><br />It only take a quick look at the situation to see what I am talking about. All around the world especially here in Europe, Muscovado or plain old regular brown sugar is marketed as Demerara sugar. Why hasn't the name Demerara Sugar been copyrighted?<br /><br />A UN study found that Guyana has more than 7,100 MW worth of hydroelectric potential in our many rivers.<br /><br />A hydroelectric facility of roughly 500 MW would allow us to process all of our current annually bauxite production into aluminium.<br /><br />Whereas a tonne of bauxite fetches between US$60-US$260, the current international price of aluminium is US$2,500 a tonne.<br /><br />President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva is from the Brazilian state that borders Guyana. As a result, from the time he took office in 2003, he was anxious to show Brazilians from the north of the Amazon that their support for him would bring them rewards.<br /><br />Billions were set aside for development projects, as was to be expected his home region of Roraima state received substantial funds. An industrial centre and tax free zone is planned for the area between Manaus and Boa Vista.<br /><br />The fact that both Amazonas and Roraima states are landlocked means their products would have to be imported and exported through Guyana or a much longer route to Belem.<br /><br />No only has the government failed to attract Brazilian investment, but they refuse to even pave the Georgetown-Lethem road. Our president, who is a trained economist, claims that he will not seal a road whose annual trade amount is only US$200,000.<br /><br />Has he ever thought that trade will only increase if the route is paved and quicker and safer for Guyanese and Brazilian traders? Lula will not be in power forever, someday soon he will be replaced by a politician most likely from the populace south of Brazil who will ask -why waste money on the north when the majority of the population lives in the south?<br /><br />Finally, why has the government accepted oil from a state that regularly and frequently violates our borders and has recently killed one of our citizens and blown up Guyanese property, with no explanation given? Why did we even sign the PetroCaribe Agreement? I am sure with the amount of business they were losing to Venezuela we could have gotten attractive terms from Trinidad if we negotiated properly as Barbados did.<br /><br />None of these initiatives is the silver bullet for Guyanese problems, but they are missed opportunities to develop this country.<br /><br />Each one is a slap in the face of the Guyanese people from an incompetent government, each one a stinging reminder of where this malaise originated. Without vision and direction no nation can achieve its destiny.<br /><br />It seems that Guyana is unique, in that on more than one occasion, due to poor leadership, we have missed our rendezvous with destiny.<br /><br />Yours faithfully,<br /><br />Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11326244.post-83480630287409349452007-11-19T12:00:00.000-04:002007-11-19T12:06:50.864-04:00Could the latest dispute catch Venezuela in verbal recognition of Guyana's ownership of Essequibo?<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh">If indeed the words of the ambassador of Venezuela to Guyana were something close to "I can prove that those boats were outside of your borders", maybe they will unwittingly give up the claim to Guyanese Territory in what they call the disputed "Territorio Essequibo".<br /><br />It may even turn out better if those boats were indeed in Guyanese waters, because it would force the issue in the forme of a public international incident with Venezuela being the bad guy.<br /><br />This may yet get more interesting.<br /><br /><br /><br />Caracas denies Guyana blast claim<br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7099476.stm<br /> </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IIMA --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44245000/gif/_44245171_venguyana_1107.gif" alt="Map of Venezuela and Guyana" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --> <b>Venezuela has denied destroying two gold-mining dredges on Guyanese territory following a strong protest from Guyana's government.</b> </span><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Guyana says 36 Venezuelan soldiers used helicopters and Compostion-4 (C-4), a type of plastic explosive, to blow up the two dredging machines on Thursday. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">It has summoned Venezuela's ambassador to explain the incident. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Venezuela denies using force and said the army was removing illegal miners inside its own territory. <!-- E SF --> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Territorial dispute</b> </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The dredges were in a disputed border region that has seen a number of recent incidents. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Guyanese troops and police travelled to the border on Friday to investigate whether the incident took place on the Wenamu River between the two countries, or the Cuyuni River in Guyana, according to the Associated Press news agency. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Guyanese Foreign Minister Rudy Insally told the news agency AFP that his country was "very disturbed by this report because it affects our territorial sovereignty." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">But Venezuela's ambassador to Guyana, Dario Morandy, told AFP that his country could provide co-ordinates to show the incident had occurred within Venezuelan borders. </span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The ambassador also accused illegal miners of polluting rivers with mercury and said Venezuela was protecting its natural resources.<!-- E BO --> </span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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For now I'll say that once they<br />comprise 1/3 of GDP, that's the tip over point.<br /><br />The big problem is that when a country's institutions are focused on<br />obtaining and spending the resource rents, the private sector often<br />get sidelined by the government.<br /><br />This has been a big problem for Guyana because most of the government<br />revenue comes from Sugar, Gold, Bauxite, Lumber and some diamonds, in<br />no particular order.<br /><br />These are all primary export commodities as opposed to manufactured goods.<br /><br />there is a debate as to whether the wealth of primary resources erodes<br />a country's institutions or if the bad institutions come first.<br /><br />The general truth, however, is that there is a good correlation<br />between institutional quality and GDP growth.<br /><br />In Guyana's case, simply injecting oil revenue into already-bad<br />(comparatively) institutions that are already geared toward resource<br />rents, won't likely grow the economy or make people better off.<br /><br />A big problem is patronage politics, the buying of blocks of votes<br />with government revenue. If it happens in a country, it happens more<br />when the government gets oil revenue.<br /><br />A great example of the politico-economic quandary in which many<br />petro-states find themselves, is Nicholas Shaxson's example of a<br />queue, or line:<br /><br />If you pour a bucket or two of icy water on this line, it will cause<br />chaos for a short time, but order will be eventually restored because<br />everyone has trust that each person will eventually get to the front<br />of the line.<br /><br />Regardless of what the people are waiting in line for, let's say that<br />the biggest or strongest people in the line start cutting to the front<br />or simply pushing their way to the front from behind. This trust then<br />dissipates and oftentimes, violent struggles or at least verbal strife<br />ensues.<br /><br />This trust is arguably the most important thing to a functioning<br />economy. The institutions are charged with the responsibility of<br />keeping order and protecting rights.<br /><br />Norway, whose economy is heavily dependent on numerous primary exports<br />including oil and farmed fish, doesn't show signs of this disorder or<br />strife because the institutions are strong, and the country wasn't<br />exactly poor before striking oil.<br /><br />The better the institutions and the better-off the economy before<br />discovery of extensive natural resources, the better a country is able<br />to cope with the challenges they pose.<br /><br />The poorer a country is and the worse off its institutions before<br />discovery, the worse-off a country tends to be after the discovery of<br />hydrocarbons.<br /><br />Interesting is the case of Indonesia between 1965-1990. Their<br />institutions were only marginally better than Guyana's during the same<br />time period, but they had an open economy, as opposed to Guyana's<br />closed one, and their reliance on primary exports was less than half<br />of Guyana's in terms of % of GDP. Indonesia's economic growth was<br />phenomenal during this time, and if I'm not mistaken, that country was<br />a bit democratically challenged during that period. It should be<br />noted that Indonesia has had a young and growing population, whilst<br />Guyana's hasn't.<br /><br />New Zealand is an interesting anomaly amongst the nations like the<br />Netherlands, US and Norway, with great institutions. Even though the<br />institutions were almost top notch, Their economy was closed during<br />this time period and hence, NZ experienced terrible economic growth<br />compared to its peers.<br /><br />Another big issue that needs to be considered is "dutch disease" as it<br />became known in the 1960's when the Netherlands struck natural gas in<br />the North Sea. The influx of money from exploitation of said reserves<br />made Dutch currency more expensive, and manufactured goods suffered<br />because of it.<br /><br />This has been replicated to varying degrees in other countries, but<br />especially so, and severely, in places that don't already have a<br />manufacturing sector to begin with. Leaders of developing countries<br />tend to spend without planning for tumultuous commodity price swings,<br />and when the price dips low, there isn't a manufacturing sector to<br />step in to save the economy.<br /><br />The thing that I want to impress upon the mind when it comes to<br />natural resource rents vs taxes levied from enterprise, personal<br />income or tariffs, is that their collection remains more or less<br />constant (other than swings in world prices) regardless of how the<br />economy is doing. When a government does things to destabilize an<br />economy or allow violence, human rights abuses, etc. the government<br />still gets paid the same no matter what. Instead of inviting all to<br />participate in healthy commerce so as to generate tax revenues, the<br />government and those who lobby it are simply in a mode of dividing the<br />spoils instead of encouraging production.<br /><br />This and other things, bring me to a few cautious semi-conclusions;<br />these comprise my current 'recipe' for a Guyana that not only has a<br />very high dependence on primary exports, lackluster institutions, low<br />population growth, and an economy that is not as open as needs to be:<br /><br />1. The government needs to be forced by its own people to convert to<br />production mode instead of grabbing mode. It's the responsibility of<br />Guyanese to foresee the train wreck and avert it. Nicholas Shaxson<br />who recently published an article called 'politics, corruption and the<br />resource curse' says something to the effect that although<br />transparency measures [read FOIA] may change things a bit, the only<br />way to fundamentally change the game is to directly distribute<br />resource rents evenly amongst the people and force the government to<br />bargain with the electorate for its budgetary needs. He lists every<br />conceivable objection to such a plan, but he also quite effectively<br />answers each one except for, "the politicians will never go for it."<br />He does mention though, that a way around it is for a candidate to be<br />elected by promising to do just that. I'm convinced that the only<br />way to achieve the next points, is to fundamentally change the game or<br />interplay between Guyana's government and the electorate, anything<br />less will produce, in my opinion, a Guyana that's fundamentally<br />similar to the one we have now, only potentially worse.<br /><br />2. Transparency measures: A freedom of information act is essential.<br />A government who gets most of its revenue from sources outside the<br />electorate has almost no incentive to reveal its dealings with those<br />entities or the ways in which it spends the rents. Maybe a third<br />party bank, more trustworthy than governments sometimes, can receive<br />the resource rents and distribute the revenues to special personal<br />accounts of Guyana's citizens. The IMF is experimenting with<br />transparency requirements tied to loans made to developing countries.<br />The drawback to this is that many of these countries then decide to<br />take loans from China, which has no such stipulation.<br /><br />3. A WIDE OPEN ECONOMY: In the post colonial era, the pendulum swung<br />to a closed economy. Since the return of democratic elections, the<br />pendulum has stuck in middle of the return swing because of structural<br />and political reasons. To jump start, the economy the PEOPLE need to<br />change the incentives of the government who will then see fit to<br />foster a lively economy based on not only primary resource exports but<br />also manufacturing, services and trade/investments. If taxing a<br />vibrant economy is the main way for the government to collect revenue,<br />you can bet it will result in a society of free-enterprise.<br /><br />4. Enforcement of property rights and contracts: Knowing that not<br />doing this will discourage trust in the system and investors, the<br />government will have to expend valuable resources reforming law<br />enforcement and the judiciary. It's a lot of trouble (apparently),<br />and it won't happen unless it's the only way for government to<br />optimize its own revenue. Think about this: only minimal to no<br />transparency and enforcement of contracts/property rights is necessary<br />to get a small handful of large companies to extract Guyana's mineral<br />and natural wealth. Why would a government go through more trouble to<br />get the same or only marginally more revenue if its people don't force<br />it to? To those of you who wonder why a rich land can be a poor<br />country, this is your answer.<br /><br />5. Active immigration measures: Assuming the above happens, there<br />will be a shortage of workers acting as a bottleneck to further<br />economic growth. It should be relatively easier for the right people<br />to enter or re-enter Guyana to work. Make it streamlined and make it<br />easy. Establish a "right of return" that allows anyone with one<br />Guyanese or British Guyanese grandparent to return, and become a<br />citizen in short order. This will require tolerance not only on the<br />part of the people but also the institutions in government. Many<br />diaspora Guyanese will have different political ideas. Many of them<br />will be of races no longer well represented in Guyana. Those in power<br />know this and hence have a disincentive to allow this to ever occur.<br />This is all the more reason for the people to change the incentives<br />that the government has to deal with. Bringing back such a diverse<br />population from the various first world nations would yield, in my<br />estimation, a synergy and inventive pool of talent that far exceeds<br />that of other countries of similar populations that have always<br />resided in the country. The diaspora is one of Guyana's greatest<br />assets due to remittances now, and will continue to be so, during her<br />golden age. This effect will be compounded with the CSME (Caribbean<br />Single Market Economy), when the residents and diaspora of all<br />member-states will be able to live and work in Guyana.<br /><br />6. Active Creation of Networks and Infrastructure: People, live work<br />and travel along road, phone, data, water, electric and air networks.<br />This is why harbors and ports yield big cities and big cities turn<br />into bigger cities, metropolises and megopolises.<br /><br />Guyana is almost equidistant between the core cities of North America<br />(NE US and SE Canada) and the core cities of South America (The Sao<br />Paulo, Santiago, Buenos Aires Triangle) and Trinidad doesn't have the<br />space for a large intercontinental hub that would service enough of<br />the types of aircraft that will be flown in the future. Guyana is<br />perfectly situated to be the northern port of South America's growing<br />giant, Brazil, and a port for the other Guianas and part of Venezuela<br />(another subject). Guyana needs bridges and roads that connect all<br />the locations along its coast and the hinterland to the coast.<br /><br />A first world Guyana will have networks built in pace with and maybe<br />in anticipation of the needs of its future bustling and free economy,<br />and plenty of hydroelectric power to fuel it.<br /><br />The best way to see these things happen is to change the operational<br />foundations of the government. The only people who can do that are<br />the electorate. Solutions forced from the outside will be resented as<br />meddling. If the government decides what rights the people have to<br />free commerce, speech and supportive infrastructure/institutions based<br />on what the government needs, then we may never see this day.<br /><br />The Netherlands, one of the smallest countries of Europe experience a<br />golden age that lasted for about two centuries and was the most<br />powerful country in Europe despite it's small size, lack of natural<br />resources and population. They did it by founding the first modern<br />democracy before England did so. They had a supply of abundant energy<br />despite the lack of wood, because of the plentiful windmills they were<br />forced to build. They needed expertise beyond those existent in their<br />own population. As a result they encouraged the immigration of<br />Europe's undesirables and gave them more freedom than existed in other<br />parts of Europe. Thus, Jews, English Puritans, French Huguenots and<br />many others infused Dutch society with creativity, enterprise and<br />technology. The result was prosperity.<br /><br />Likewise, Guyana, despite its size and level of development can become<br />very prosperous and mighty, for its size. Our expertise are scattered<br />all over, just waiting for the right framework and opportunities back<br />home. Once creativity and rights are encouraged and protected, will<br />these expertise flow back home. Only a strong Guyana can assert<br />sovereignty over her rightful territory. A country forever dependent<br />on remittances and natural resources, will one day, I fear, be the<br />pawn of stronger powers who would enlist the government to enslave our<br />people for their purposes, while those of us who are able to leave<br />find prosperity elsewhere and eventually lose their identity.<br /><br />We are at a great crossroads now. Will it be business as usual or a<br />turn toward the awakened glorious potential of a golden age for<br />Guyana?<br /><br />Democratize the oil revenue and change the government's incentives<br />toward the fostering of a vibrant and open society and economy.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11326244.post-52893834079244434692007-11-14T01:30:00.000-04:002007-11-14T01:33:58.874-04:00Guyana President Accuses Rich Countries Of “Double Standards”<p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;" >Is this a pretense for Guyana joining Venezuela's Bank of the South?</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;" >What President Jagdeo's motivation for bringing this up, if in fact the US doesn't actually enforce the standards that it pushes on other countries?<br /></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;" ><br /></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;" >Hardbeatnews<br /></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;" >GEORGETOWN, Guyana<br />Weds. Nov. 14, 2007:<br /></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;" >http://www.hardbeatnews.com/editor/RTE/my_documents/my_files/details.asp?newsid=14095&title=Top%20Stories<br /></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;" > Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo says countries like the US, United Kingdom and Luxembourg have "tremendous double standards" when it comes to money laundering.</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Jagdeo made the accusation as he addressed delegates at the 34th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Association of Caribbean Indigenous Banks in Guyana yesterday.</span></span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">The Guyanese President claimed that while the US State Department's annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports continues to identify a number of Caribbean countries as money-laundering havens, the US itself is not on any blacklist.</span></span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">"That's where the financial transactions have their origin and the payment starts," Jagdeo claimed, adding that a lot of "hot money" was circulating in London from tax-evasion originating in the UK.<br />He added that while major Western nations are failing to combat money laundering in their own jurisdictions they continue to press the Caribbean to enact a wide range of laws and regulations.</span></span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">But he told delegates, "We should make sure that we don't have a movement of illegal money across our jurisdictions, but we must not legislate ourselves out of competitiveness and we must not put burden on our banking system that other countries don't have." </span></span></p> <span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">The Caribbean Association of Indigenous Banks, Inc., is a community of locally incorporated/owned banks and other financial institutions in the Caribbean/CARICOM region, which provides opportunities for discussion on issues impacting the indigenous banking/financial services community as well as for the sharing of experiences and networking. The conference wraps up tomorrow in Guyana. – Hardbeatnews.com</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11326244.post-13769074525048661742007-11-09T13:13:00.001-04:002007-11-09T13:14:19.108-04:00Stabroek News - opening the discussion on the resource curseCrude Promises<br />Stabroek News<br />Tuesday, November 6th 2007<br /><br /><br />With crude oil prices likely to rise above US$100 per barrel by the end of this year, there has never been a better time for petroleum-rich countries to buy their way out of chronic debt and underdevelopment. On paper, some have made startling progress in this direction. In the eight years since Vladimir Putin assumed control, Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) has increased sixfold, its average salary is now US$540 a month - up from $65 - and nearly two thirds of its overwhelming foreign debt (70% of GDP under Yeltsin) has been settled. In Venezuela, President Chavez has arguably used his country's oil revenues even more wisely. For the first time in living memory, many of Venezuela's working class have become an active part of the country's political process, largely due to the government's widespread subsidies of food, health care and education. This has earned Chavez the unassailable trust of Latin America's poor, even though his critics have referred to the erosion of normal democratic rights and the increasing attempt to take control of all aspects of the society. Elsewhere, however, the track record of newly rich oil economies has tended to be one of general failure, punctuated by occasional success.<br /><br />Consider Sudan. Human rights activists all over the world have forced the media to pay attention to the ongoing genocide in Darfur. Yet the faltering of the peace agreement which halted the country's horrific civil war has gone largely unnoticed. Before the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in 2005, Sudan endured two decades of brutal civil conflict in which an 'Arab' north tried to subdue the country's 'Black' south. That war claimed two million lives; its sequel, if allowed to happen, would almost certainly eclipse the carnage in Darfur. The CPA stipulated that the country's oil revenues, mostly generated by the south, would be shared equitably, but far from being a source of development and income redistribution these have become a catalyst for both sides to reconsider their future. So, although Sudan's proven oil reserves are the fifth largest in Africa and even though the country's GDP has tripled in the last seven years, most of the benefits of the new wealth have gone to Khartoum while much of southern Sudan continues to languish in hunger, disease and grinding poverty.<br /><br />A few months ago, the human rights activist David Morse accompanied three refugees from Sudan's civil war on a return visit to their villages in the south (his moving account of this journey can be read online at the weblog tomdispatch.com). All of them were from the country's Dinka population, part of the exodus of 'lost boys' - several thousand children who fled to Ethiopia after government forces had destroyed their villages. Their escape took several months during which they were often bombed and strafed by government aircraft. Morse writes, "[s]ome died in rivers; others were eaten by crocodiles and lions. Dying of thirst, they drank any water they could find; some drank urine. Starving, they chewed on inedible plants or ate dirt." Having survived this, the boys managed to make their way to America, and by any reasonable estimate they had done very well there: two had obtained higher education, the third was a professional nurse.<br /><br />Their return visit was a painful reminder of how little has really changed in southern Sudan. Soldiers, teachers and doctors had often received no salary for months, roads were impassable in bad weather, children got sick and died, often in agony, for want of drugs that should be easily available. Meanwhile, Khartoum maintains a strong military presence near the oil-wells in the south and many openly refer to a plebiscite on secession scheduled for 2011 as the date on which civil war will begin again.<br /><br />From an accountant's perspective, however, the south should be booming. Last year, Khartoum paid the government of Southern Sudan just over a billion dollars as its annual share of oil revenues - based on a production level of 300, 000 barrels a day. (Since then production has slumped to 254, 000 barrels per day and there are fears that Sudan's oil, already high in sulfur and therefore less valuable than was initially forecast, may be 'maturing'.) But despite the spectacular growth of places like the city of Juba whose population has increased from 100, 000 to a million during the last two years, the government in the south does not have enough money to pay its civil service, or to tackle many of the critical human development needs that it faces. In this context, control of the country's oil is soon likely to degenerate into a lethal confrontation. And, since 40% of the national budget is currently spent on defense, the next war will undoubtedly be much bloodier than the first.<br /><br />When Morse interviewed Southern Sudan's minister for oil, Dr Benjamin put the problem succinctly: "We are not getting all our oil." The line demarcating claims from the North and South has still not been definitively agreed on and unless that dispute is properly settled, war seems almost inevitable. The minister pointed out that the CPA which brokered the current, fragile peace is an international agreement. It was signed not just by the North and South but also the UN, European Union, the Arab League, African Union and the United States. In a cri de coeur that should be branded on to the hands of everyone who signs these agreements, Benjamin says: "I should not have to shout this from the rooftops! You don't give birth [to a peace treaty] and then forget . . . You need to nurse it, see that it grows properly." It is highly probable that something similar is being muttered by Iraq's bureaucrats.<br /><br />"Oil don't spoil" said the Trinidadians in their first boom years. But they were wrong. It often spoils, and in spectacular ways. Societies that cannot or will not address their known failings so that they use the money for serious development, soon relapse into all the old familiar quarrels.<br /><br />That has been been the case all the way from the creation of Saudi Arabia to the impending dissolution of Iraq and Sudan. If Guyana becomes a significant oil producer in the next few years, are we likely to prove an exception?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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How Guyana aligns itself will have lots to do with how other countries treat Guyana. </span><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(127, 0, 0);font-family:Georgia;font-size:180%;" >Banco del Sur: A giant step forward to expand regional trade and growth</span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="font-size:85%;"><img style="width: 122px; height: 156px;" src="http://www.vheadline.com/graf/Ishmael_Odeen_01.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="120" hspace="5" width="104" />Guyana's Ambassador to Caracas, Dr. Odeen Ishmael writes:</span> </b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Seven South American countries have agreed to establish the <i>“Banco del Sur” [Bank of the South]</i> which is seen as a giant step forward to expand regional trade and growth with the use of their own resources. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Venezuela’s President <a name="067945666X" id="amzn_cl_link_0" target="_blank" href="http://amazon.com/gp/product/067945666X?ie=UTF8&tag=vheavene-20&link_code=em1&camp=212341&creative=384049&creativeASIN=067945666X&adid=4674f84a-cf0f-48c2-b698-e27f8b8bea05">Hugo Chavez</a> and the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay will inaugurate the bank in Caracas on November 3. This decision was taken by the Declaration of Rio de Janeiro signed by the finance ministers of the seven countries at a meeting held in the Brazilian city on October 8. </span></p> <p><b><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:85%;" >The other countries of the Union of South America (UNASUR) -- Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Peru and Suriname -- have not yet stated their intention to join the bank. </span></b></p> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">This new regional development bank, championed by President Chavez, will fulfill one of the main objectives of UNASUR in promoting regional integration since it will assist in financing integration projects in the 12 South American countries. It will be headquartered in Caracas but will maintain regional offices in La Paz and Buenos Aires. The members have already agreed that each country will have an equal voice on the bank's board of directors. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">At the Rio meeting, Venezuela’s Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas stated that the Banco del Sur would mark the beginning of “a new financial architecture for the South.'' He emphasized the bank's difference from multilateral financial institutions such as the <a name="184277073X" id="amzn_cl_link_1" target="_blank" href="http://amazon.com/gp/product/184277073X?ie=UTF8&tag=vheavene-20&link_code=em1&camp=212341&creative=384049&creativeASIN=184277073X&adid=950c15e4-e7bb-46b1-aba2-c9a1d6d2a810">World Bank</a> and <a name="0817996427" id="amzn_cl_link_2" target="_blank" href="http://amazon.com/gp/product/0817996427?ie=UTF8&tag=vheavene-20&link_code=em1&camp=212341&creative=384049&creativeASIN=0817996427&adid=d1634cf2-157f-4578-9598-ecb41cbce0e7">International Monetary Fund</a>, pointing out that no conditions would be set on loans to members. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">When President Chavez first proposed the bank more than two years ago, he envisioned it as part of a drive to counter the influence of the United States in <a name="0765611066" id="amzn_cl_link_4" target="_blank" href="http://amazon.com/gp/product/0765611066?ie=UTF8&tag=vheavene-20&link_code=em1&camp=212341&creative=384049&creativeASIN=0765611066&adid=3c24498b-c814-4aaf-a179-335a9f9bbc12">Latin America</a>, while at the same time using his nation’s profits from record high crude oil prices to finance social and economic development programs. He has also been promoting the Banco del Sur as an alternative to the <a name="B00092I4MU" id="amzn_cl_link_3" target="_blank" href="http://amazon.com/gp/product/B00092I4MU?ie=UTF8&tag=vheavene-20&link_code=em1&camp=212341&creative=384049&creativeASIN=B00092I4MU&adid=20dc9973-8295-4973-a644-206ee3634b90">International Monetary Fund (IMF</a>), which he blames for perpetuating poverty in Latin America. </span></p> <blockquote> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">At the time of President Chavez’ initial proposal, some international commentators scoffed at the idea and dismissed it as one existing in the realms of fantasy. Some even doubted that it would ever take root and win support from other South American countries, Brazil in particular. </span></p></blockquote> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Despite these doubts, President Chavez has persevered in his campaign to secure backing for the establishment of this important South American financial body. He consistently points out that South American countries’ reserves are held in banks in the United States, thus “subsidizing” that country’s economy. He explains that the South American countries can surely utilize at least part of these reserves -- their own money -- to operate their own development bank. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">The momentum gathered pace at the South American Energy Summit held in April last when Brazil announced its intention to participate in this new development bank. However, the South American giant currently feels that the Banco del Sur should not operate as an alternative to the IMF or for its funds to be used to strengthen currencies. </span></p> <ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">So far the participating countries have not yet decided on the amount each will contribute to the bank, or how the institution will raise additional funds. However, these matters will be ironed within 60 days after the formal launching on November 3. </span></li></ul> <p><b><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:85%;" >In Rio, Brazil’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega revealed that his country would make a “large” contribution to the Banco del Sur which he emphasized should be self-sustaining by earning enough interest on investments to ensure increasing capital available for loans. </span></b></p> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">In explaining the functions of the bank, he mentioned that it will not make grants, but only interest-bearing loans to both the public and private sectors, and will operate only within South America. He added that the bank will seek to increase its capital through borrowing, possibly through international capital markets. At the same time, it will collaborate with existing regional financial institutions such as Brazil's state development bank (BNDES) and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF). </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">From all announcements made so far, the Banco del Sur will operate in the same manner as the long-established <a name="1597820369" id="amzn_cl_link_5" target="_blank" href="http://amazon.com/gp/product/1597820369?ie=UTF8&tag=vheavene-20&link_code=em1&camp=212341&creative=384049&creativeASIN=1597820369&adid=05d3378a-d7e9-47fd-b947-ae30df3dab17">Inter-American Development Bank</a> (IDB), but all this will be finally determined when the institution begins its formal operations. So far there has been no reaction from the Washington-based organization which, over the years, has been financing development projects throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. </span></p> <blockquote> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">But judging from <a name="1931003629" id="amzn_cl_link_6" target="_blank" href="http://amazon.com/gp/product/1931003629?ie=UTF8&tag=vheavene-20&link_code=em1&camp=212341&creative=384049&creativeASIN=1931003629&adid=df4504be-8d61-446b-ab8a-8251eda9eef9">Latin American</a> media reports, some questions are being raised such as what will be the total initial contribution of each member country; how will these contributions be made; what projects will be given priority; and which countries will be more influential in determining the lending policies. </span></p></blockquote> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Many of the questions are from skeptics, but after November 3 it is expected they will all be answered. Already, in term of priority projects, there already exist numerous infrastructural schemes planned by UNASUR through the Integration of Infrastructure in the Region of South America (IIRSA).</span></p> <p><b><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:85%;" >No doubt, the member countries will soon be approaching the Banco del Sur for development finance to finalize some these important undertakings. </span></b></p> <p><i><span style="color: rgb(127, 0, 0);font-family:Georgia;font-size:130%;" >Whatever initial steps the Banco del Sur makes, only time will determine the viability of the new institution as it sets out on its task of managing development for integration in South America. </span></i></p><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" > <p><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:180%;" >Odeen Ishmael<br /><a href="mailto:embguy@cantv.net"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">embguy@cantv.net</span></a></span></p></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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This means that registrants' physical features would have changed.<br /><br />In its justification GECOM noted that the current ID cards were produced in haste for the 2001 elections and are a poor portrayal of the registrants' visages.<br /><br />It noted that the old 'Teslin' stock (ID card materials) used for the current photographs has been in GECOM's possession for the past eight years, if calculated from the time of manufacture, the present stock would be about 10 years and for use in the 2011 elections they would then be 13 years old. If brand new cards with new security features are produced during the current exercise they would last until 2016.<br /><br />The Testlin currently in stock is also devoid of some new security features which GECOM is now negotiating with De La Rue Identity Systems.<br /><br />According to sources at GECOM, the actual cost would be about $235.3 million and would include new stocks of Teslin, plus the relevant printers and printers consumables, design costs, the relevant system upgrade (hardware and software), engineering services for project delivery, and guaranteed second line technical support for 24 months.<br /><br />According to the source, the advice to produce new ID cards has come from citizens, stakeholders, donor agencies, and observer groups, among others.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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