APNU Column…A Brave New World?The usual pictures of Bharrat Jagdeo are missing from the PPP/C 2011 Manifesto. Thank goodness, for he has cast a shadow over this country that no-one could have imagined possible in 1997.In addition to the abuse of power by the Presidency and executive lawlessness, Guyanese face corruption, discrimination, growth without employment, capricious decision-making and inadequate levels of investment. The result has been chronic and growing income inequality along with public squalor alongside private affluence.It is in this context that Donald Ramotar’s message in the PPP manifesto has to be judged. Mr Ramotar offers a blueprint that is ‘ambitious, realistic and transformative’. The case is based on the demonstrated capacity of the PPP over the last two decades.Typically, comparisons are made with 28 years of PNC Government but different years are used for comparison and when 1992 is not convenient it is ignored or simply attributed to PPP policies.The allegation that, “we inherited a bankrupt economy…” is restated in many forms. Actually, in October 1992 foreign exchange reserves stood at record levels having exceeded the agreed target in 1991. Real GDP grew by 6.1 per cent in 1991 and this improvement continued in 1992 and 1993 with GDP growing by 7.7 per cent and 8.3 per cent, respectively.The agricultural sector,NFL Jerseys Cheap, the mainstay of the Guyanese economy,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, grew at 16% and 28% in 1991 and 1992, respectively.These are not the indicators of a bankrupt economy.The Manifesto repeats the same ignorant use of GDP figures for which Mr Persaud was recently chastised by Mr Christopher Ram and Professor Thomas. It also falsely claimed that in the post-1992 period we have had uninterrupted positive growth. The PPP is praised for solving the external debt problem but the problem currently posed by a rapidly expanding domestic debt of US$88bn is not mentioned.In this attempt to show how well the PPP has done, no reference is made to how Guyana has fared compared with the rest of the region. In this Manifesto,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, there is no explicit reference to foreign policy although the programme itself has implications for such policy. The same may be said of governance and economic decision-making. So, whereas the APNU’s Unity Charter and Manifesto give prominence to Constitutional Reform, protection of the Judiciary from the abuses about which Justices Jainarayan Singh and Doodnauth Singh so bitterly complained last year, the PPP/C Manifesto is mum in the mater.The PPP’s philosophy and guiding principles promise to ensure the continuation of the ‘highest standards of accountability and integrity’? ….. ‘going forward ‘ (p5). Unlike the APNU, there is no intention to establish predictable rules governing investment or to implement laws on Government procurement, two of the most grievous areas of corruption and lack of accountability.Eighteen years after Dr Jagan appointed an internal body chaired by Mrs Jagan to investigate such matters there have been endless scams, no report and practically no prosecutions of consequence.Mr Ramotar singled out the following projects as key to his programme:•?? ?hydropower•?? ?the new fibre-optic cable•?? ?a deep water harbour•?? ?an all-weather road to Brazil and•?? ?a Bridge to SurinameEvery single one of these projects is associated with allegations of corrupt transactions and irregularities. Amaila promises to deliver the world’s most expensive power from a hydro facility.APNU has reserved the right to review all the contracts associated with such projects and the last minute agreements being signed with reputable and other investors.The figures on energy the figures are at variance with GPL’s published figures on generation, for example, and in spite of all the PPP’s achievements, more electricity is available per capita in the rest of the Caribbean than in Guyana.In boasting (inaccurately) about low (30%) transmission losses, no reference is made to the fact that in the LAC region the comparable figure is 13.5%. There is no promise to fix the disgracefully inefficient GPL and its notorious practices such as discrimination in disconnections. Amaila will solve everything!The programme‘This Guyana will be a land of prosperity and opportunity’ (p5) but no new initiatives are proposed to ensure this. The intention is to continue with the Jagdeo mould, flawed as it is.The authors make reference to nation-wide consultation which has informed the strategies it is proposing but the documents on which the strategies are based are in some cases,China Jerseys NFL Wholesale, such as the National Development Strategy, already over 10 years old during which time they have not been impl