The reasons Guyana is unsafe

• Conflicting political agendas.
• Racial instability.
• Monetary deficiencies.

This analysis deals with the economic condition of Guyana. The social, cultural and natural richness of the
country and its' people is a separate issue.

  Economic Factors

• The government does not have the money required to adequately hire a police force and to give them the equipment needed (guns, cars, computers, laboratories...)
• Consequently (in most cases) the only thing preventing someone from committing a crime is there own desire to not hurt someone or steal something.
• This need to steal/injure someone is compounded with the lack of jobs, and not having money to provide for ones' self and his/her family.
• The attractiveness of 1st world countries has seen thousands of individuals leaving the country. Most emmigration policies has criteria such as; level of education, criminal activity, family structure, age of applicant, health of applicant and generally a motivated individual. Consequently since 'most' Guyanese are screened based on this criteria, the ones that score high are accepted in 1st word countries. This is unfair, however the reality exists. This is can be compared with the problem Canada is having with the United States. In this scenario (1st world country to another 1st world country) the Canadian is experiencing a 'Brain Drain' of educated and innovative people to the U.S.A. Considering this is an important issue for Canada, one can only imagine its impact on 3rd world countires (ie.Guyana).

• Individuals who want to steal/hurt others for reasons other than money exploit the lack of an acceptable law enforcement. These people may be jealous, simply dislike someone, or feel threatened by their presence in some way. They then commit the crime knowing they will encounter minimal consequence (prosecution).

• When a police force is inadequately paid, policemen have a tendency to supplement their income with other accessible means. This may include bribes with money, selling stolen items (gold,drugs,money).
• A political party can fulfill this need gap by providing individuals in the law enforcement with bribes.

   Solutions

• The core issue is money. It is needed to adequately pay public servants, political representatives, stimulate the economy to create jobs, provide social services and educational institutions.
• Since a large percentage of Guyana's' gross national product (GNP) is used to pay the substantial interest and principal on the government debt, few money is left over to run the country.
• By getting debt relief from countries the monies are owed to and grants from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Guyana can start using it's revenue to operate the country.

Reasons for the large debt.

• It takes many years to correct the monetary drain the PNC had on the Guyana economy. To reinforce this (and provide an example for PNC supporters, who dispute this point) Mr.Burnham was the 5th richest person in the world (at one point) during his presidency. He has few money before being president and no businesses (outside of government operations) of his own. His wealth is compared with a country of only 500,000 people  and a GDP of minimal revenue. Therefore Mr. Burnham borrowed money from countries to help Guyana's economy but used the money to increase his (also family members and supporters) personal wealth.
• The countries that loaned money to Guyana should have monitored how the money was being used, and properly asses if Guyana could repay the debt. There lack of financial planning when lending money should be an issue raised when seeking debt relief from those countries.

    Guyana is an unsafe place to live when compared to first world countries; However certain neighborhoods have a low crime rate and may be suitable to live but the lack of reliable and adequate government services can be a deterrent.

The National debt is currently $2.1 Billion (US). It is projected to drop drastically to $600 Million by 2003. The government
will then be able to help the country, though the Internation Mometary Fund and the World Bank are setting criteria to
implement policies to promote trade with 1st world countries. The IMF and the WB wants a trading nation even though
this agenda will compromise Guyana from being sustainable.

    Guyana is not the only country with these problems. Any country that lacks the necessary money to run the country will have the problems Guyana has, to some degree. This is reinforced when comparing a countries'  debt ratio (free-up capital) to crime rate . As its debt and lack of funds increase, so does the national crime rate and vice versa

Leonard A Rawana

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