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Topic Discussion I
Politics of Hard Choices
Political Transition and Economic Restructuring
Room 5
(15 of 22 pages)
There are a number of economic reforms and restructuring required by the World
Bank that imposes on these countries privatization of the public sector. All the workers of the public sector join
the ranks of the unemployed thus unemployment is on the increase. Workers and even peasants do not find any support
from the government. Basic subsidies for food have been lifted; services provided by the state under the totalitarian
systems have stopped for the resources of the state have become limited through the taxes that are paid to the
private sector. Those countries that support democracy do not provide the assistance that should be provided to
these democratic countries. The emerging democracies are facing major economic difficulties. These economic difficulties
are changing or turning into constraints in the face of democracy itself. When you call on the citizen to vote
he is too busy seeking his source of livelihood and when he feels that he cannot even do that he says that liberty
is without value. If his level of income increases and his livelihood increase then he will say there is not use
for eating well if you do not have freedom.
Now we feel that we are at the following juncture. We have freedom but we do not have enough to eat, and thus our
societies are facing problems that can be summed up by the ordinary citizen as a struggle of power between the
opposition and the political parties. These political parties in countries suffering economic crises and economic
backwardness, we find that these political parties address political issues more than they address the economy.
They very often spend so much more on political aspects than they would on economic aspects. Capital in these countries
is still developing and limited. It cannot take the place of the state, it does not have the capacity to do that
and neither does it have the awareness. Opportunities for investment are available but there are no initiatives
by national capital to take up the role and in order to cover the gaps left by democracy in order to assist the
society to overcome what might distort the while image of democracy. I want to say that emerging democracies face
numerous problems and thus it leads some people to say that under totalitarian regimes conditions were better than
under pluralism. Than you.
Chair: Thank you. We have just twenty minutes left. I am going to urge everybody to make their comments
as specific as possible, particular for recommendations they would like this group to make to the overall conference.
If you have any more general philisophical comments please either speak very very briefly or save them for more
informal conversations. I have one apology to make the Delegate from Guyana had his hand up a long time ago I thought
he had taken it down, but he hadn't so he is number 1, then 2, 3, 4, 5 and then 6. Then everybody please again
very very briefly and very concrete.
Speaker: Thank you very much. I am from Guyana. I am an Executive Member of the Peoples National Congress
which party is now in opposition but which party brought in the IMF when the World Bank made an idiot. Now I say
that so you can understand the problem. Brought in the Royal Bank and the IMF. Last month the public service unions
recognized that their salary were on the level that it was in 1968 and this is now the year 1999 because of the
INF and Royal Bank conditionalities. The point is that nobody apart from the governing party was aware of the conditionalities
that were imposed by the Royal Bank and the IMF. As was mentioned by the other two speakers, there was no dialogue
between the political parties, no dialogue with the senior society and so five days ago we just completed the sixty
day strike which virtually crippled the economy, all because the public servants couldn't live with the salary
they were getting in 1968. My recommendation therefore is that the IMF and the Royal Bank must ensure before they
sign any agreement with the government that they are certain that civil society and all of the principal political
parties are also made aware of the terms of conditions. I am saying that should be a prerequisite before signing.
The other point I want to make is that the democratization process in Guyana cannot continue as started in 1993
because the two major parties are not speaking with each other. If the two major parties are not speaking with
each other there can be no dialogue between the parties. The civil society was the agency that had to bring them
into the strike last week. Civil society had to jump in to speak to both parties and end the strike. Once we have
a situation where the parties can't speak, well that is it. There was an accord signed by the two parties, which
says that new constitution would be written by the 17th of July. We hope that it is completed by them, if not we
might have to take another look at democracy. Thank you.
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