If the PPP wins with a majority, Guyana may become the next resource curse on steroids, with lots of white-elephant projects.
And if the ruling coalition wins with a majority, Guyana may continue to blunder along and give away its oil wealth.
Full text:
Jan Mangal, oil and gas consultant and former petroleum advisor to the president of Guyana:
“The people of Guyana are between a rock and a hard place. Both of the political duopolies, the governing APNU/AFC coalition and the opposition PPP, squandered the period since the last election in 2015. They do not have much new to offer independent voters and the indigenous population, and they are focusing on their base supporters.
The first battle for the coalition government in 2015 needed to be internal. But it failed to transform the operation of the government, it failed to instil a sense of urgency (especially with oil), it failed to focus on making ministers and officials accountable for performance, and it failed to attract Indo-Guyanese. Even now, the government continues to blunder and alienate crucial independent voters. Its reaction to a recent report by Global Witness, an international NGO, was that it was a conspiracy theory. Hence the government came across as defensive and portrayed itself as a victim, when instead it should be seen as sensible and in control.
And as for the opposition PPP, it needed to shed its cabal of tainted leadership, but instead it strengthened the hand of those accused of corruption prior to 2015. It also made no progress in transforming itself into a multi-racial party.
Due to intractable problems with the coalition government and PPP opposition, and the absence of constitutional reform to make politicians accountable, independent voters may deny either of these duopolies an outright majority in the next parliament. Independent voters may hope new third parties can act as ‘honest brokers’ in the next Parliament.
If the PPP wins with a majority, Guyana may become the next resource curse on steroids, with lots of white-elephant projects. And if the ruling coalition wins with a majority, Guyana may continue to blunder along and give away its oil wealth.”
Jan Mangal