Some of the oil revenue should be directly transferred to the poorest to alleviate poverty

Dear Editor, I have been following with interest, discussions in the media on how to utilise our newly discovered oil riches. While one has to be careful that we do not proverbially count our chickens before they are hatched, it is my considered view that we give serious consideration on how we can utilise our anticipated financial inflows to create a much more just and egalitarian society. Too many people currently are existing on a ‘hand to mouth’ basis, not knowing where the next meal will come from.

I am not referring here only to the destitute and those who are forced to survive on old age pension. One only has to see the long lines at the post offices around the country on the first pension date to get a sense of the number of people whose financial situation are so dire that a day without money can make that difference between starvation and the next meal.

There is also the working poor who are unable to make ends meet and provide for their families on the minimum wage they earn. Many of these people, in particular single parent families, are forced into all manner of anti-social activities such as begging and prostitution to provide for themselves and their families.

It is in the above context that serious consideration should be given to utilise a part of the oil money to alleviate the level of poverty that currently exists in our country. This could be done by way of direct cash transfers to pensioners and other vulnerable groups. There should also be cash supplements to those who earn at the minimum of the salary scales. Subsidies for water and electricity to pensioners initiated under the PPP/C should be reinstated.

The projected oil revenues could provide new opportunities to reconfigure our economy which historically was based on a narrow range of commodities for export. We need to examine new areas of investment that are petroleum related. This is why the idea of oil refining in Guyana should not be ruled out. The refining of oil has potential for value-added and downstream benefits including greater employment opportunities.

We should always explore new ways to optimise our benefits from oil and gas. For too long, we were condemned to the status as producers of primary products. It is time that we expand the frontiers of our economy to take maximum advantage of our natural and human resources.

I have no problem with investing in skills development and infrastructural upgrade. At the end of the day however, it is people that matters, especially those for whom the promise of oil means having more food to put on the table.

Yours faithfully, Hydar Ally