Guyanese Online

April 28, 2019  Features / Columnists, My Column – Adam Harris

I keep hearing that there is no money, so people cannot spend as they should. Trying to convince the naysayers is an overwhelming task. They are convinced that money is not at a premium. However, the evidence suggests otherwise. Never before has there been a plethora of fast food outlets. And they keep opening their doors.

Over the years, I always found that if I spend my money in the marketplace then go home and cook, it turns out cheaper than buying fast food. Even more interesting is the number of eating houses that operate alongside the fast food outlets.

There is never a day that I would enter an office and not find people eating out of food boxes. It seems as though people abhor walking with their meals, so at mealtime they would simply step out to buy food from somewhere. 

I hear about the excellent roadside cook-up served by some enterprising people, especially at nights. But food is not the only evidence of some disposable income. I see the growing number of Chinese-operated business places.

Chinese have been operating businesses in Guyana for years. They moved from groceries to restaurants. Now there are supermarkets. Regent Street, Robb Street and parts of Alberttown testify to the growing number of Chinese businesses.

Word is that the enterprising Chinese would approach a local operator and offer a rental that is difficult to refuse. After a while, the enterprising Chinese would return to the owner and seek to reduce the rental. By then the owner has grown accustomed to making money without having to do any work. There is some agreement.

Visitors to Guyana patronize the Chinese because their goods are cheaper, much cheaper than what the locals have to offer. Some say that the Chinese manage to dodge the tax collectors with some official help. I do not know.

I do not hear the Chinese complaining about business being slow. There is a supermarket in Tucville. For some strange reason, no local ever attempted to open a supermarket there. The person who invested in the building did not contemplate going into business.

This supermarket offers just about everything. And it has reduced the need for people to travel into the heart of the city for supplies.

Another thing I keep hearing is the paucity of jobs for young people. This cannot be true. For starters, many young people seek jobs for which they are not qualified. And those who do qualify simply complain that they are not paid enough. Many opt to leave the job and do nothing. Rather than earn, they simply hang around depending on the largesse of others.

Yet there are many young people who are gainfully employed, to the extent that the wages bill has actually increased. There was a moratorium on employment into the public service. This is no longer the case.

Where I work in Kaieteur News, and even when I worked with Prime News, there was a steady procession of young reporters. And the reason is simple. They simply cannot cope with the demands of reporting, simple as these are.
I know that many people in the media today would boast of working in more than one media house. That is because after leaving one media house, they try to gain employment in another area, but find that things are not so easy. They simply return to the media and are absorbed.

Entrepreneurship is one area that seems to be attracting some young people. Forget the numerous roadside stalls. There was a time when Guyanese were known to produce many household items. There were the various sauces, something that is not often seen—chocolate sticks, and the vegetables.

Farming is still lucrative, but many young people saw it as playing in the mud. They could not bear to soil their skins – but those who do, live comfortably. Increasingly, they are the people who produce things that are in demand.

The days when most young people sought to migrate seem to be coming to an end. Things are not what they once were overseas. Just this past week, United States President Donald Trump announced a campaign to go after those who have overstayed. And many Guyanese are in this bracket.

And while there is the claim that no money is circulating, I still hear about foreign artistes coming in their numbers. More often than not the shows attract droves; and they are not exactly cheap.

At the same time, there are those who are trying desperately to own their own homes. I see communities springing up where cane fields once existed.

The government is expected to contribute to the growing development. It is not a lending agency, but it can facilitate loans. And it does through the agencies set up for just such an eventuality.

But when all is said and done, Guyana needs to get back to the basics. The education system must improve. There are the private schools who find it profitable to keep their doors open. They are not cheap, but people prefer to spend money to ensure that their children get a start in life.

In such conditions, one would assume that only the well-off could make use of the private schools, but this is not so. Ordinary working people do make use of the private schools. The money has to come from somewhere. And it does, right from their pockets.

Is it true that there is no money in Guyana? Check the balance sheets of the beverage companies. And look at the operations of the commercial banks.

What we do have are those who were accustomed to spending the earnings of the drug trade. That has reduced. The money that is not there is the drug money.