THERE seems to be a corps of anti-Government letter writers as well as TV talk show hosts whose main role it seems is to distort events and developments, misinterpreting them in such a way as to create a climate of opinion warning the populace that Guyana is in crisis and that all businesses and industries are failing because of the policy of the Government and nothing else.

The letter by Vic Puran "Collapse during mismanagement or a lack of vision?" [ please note: link provided by LOSP web site ] falls into such a category.

He refers to a number of businesses and what are perceived to be the causes of their fun lives.

For example, "J.P. Santos was forced to close. It was said that the failure was caused by the vendors blocking the store’s entrance." If I remember correctly, it was the management of the store that made this statement and it was not a comment by the Government.

When “Brassonics ran into financial difficulties, the cause was PNC marching.”

Everybody knows that the PNC protest marches as well as those by the GPSU had a very negative impact on the economy of the country and affected most businesses directly or indirectly.

He also gave a list of several other businesses. He pointed to the Honourable Finance Minister as saying: "many of these businesses have had mismanagement." He also claimed that he was parroting the words of the President when he said the problems of GNCB were due to mismanagement.

The whole gist of Puran’s letter is really to attack the PPP/Civic Government which is quite clear, when he asks in his penultimate paragraph "Is the failure of businesses in Guyana due to mismanagement or due to a lack of vision and inability of the PPP Government to facilitate an environment conducive to growth?"

He could have very well started his letter with the above paragraph because it was quite clear where he was coming from and where he intended to go.

We are committed to a few market economy and to globalisation as well as liberalisation and businesses large and small will be affected for good or bad by the movement of market forces.

Government no longer dominates the economy as was the case under the PNC when the state was responsible for 80 per cent of the economy.

Mr. Puran, to get across his propagandist view deliberately overlooked the many new businesses, which have been opened over the past few years as well as those existing ones, which have been expanded. Why?

Clearly this government has, and continues to facilitate and promote investment and development in a fluctuating and dynamic economy.

John Da Silva.