30.I.1 It is intended, immediately after the approval of this National Development Strategy by the National Assembly, to translate its various recommendations into detailed projects. For example, the strategies that have been put forward for the future development of the educational sector in Guyana will be broken down into specific projects encompassing such activities as primary education, teacher training, training in science and technology, distance learning, computer education and so on. Similar approaches will be followed for other sectors.

30.I.2 In addition, projects will be formulated both on a regional basis, and for such cross-cutting matters as institutional reform, family affairs, and information technology.

30.I.3 In all these exercises, specific implementation schedules and costings will be developed.

30.I.4 These projects, with the National Development Strategy as a back-drop and as a strategic-ramework, will then be submitted to the Government, the bi-lateral and multi-lateral communities, and the national and international private sector for possible financing.

30.I.5 The government in office will require ministries to demonstrate how they intend to contribute to the attainment of the objectives of the NDS and, if necessary, request them to revise existing programmes so that they might fall in line with those of the National Development Strategy. If there are compelling circumstances, the government will, of course, amend the NDS’s proposals.

30.I.6 The agreed programmes will be incorporated into the annual budgets.

30.II.1 The sources that are normally tapped by governments of Guyana for the financing of their developmental activities will be resorted to for the implementation of this National Development Strategy. These are, of course, the government’s own revenues; the resources of the Bretton Woods institutions, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Caribbean Development Bank; the resources of the United Nations system, for both financial and technical assistance; the aid agencies of a range of bi-lateral donor countries; and the local and foreign private sector.

30.II.2 It should be stressed that the greatest reliance will be placed on private sector investment to develop the massive infrastractural programme which has been prescribed in this National Development Strategy.

30.II.3 To this end, a radical departure from the normal approaches to infrastructural development is contemplated. The government will focus more on facilitating rather than financing the construction of infrastructure in Guyana. The approach which it will follow, and on which it will concentrate, is known variously as the Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) system, or as Build, Own, Operate, Transfer (BOOT), or Build, Own, Operate (BOO).

30.II.4 In these types of projects, private sector investors generally provide equity financing in the amount of 10 to 30 percent of the total project costs, and seek debt financing for the balance of the investment. The host government may, on occasion, furnish a portion or all of the land that may be required for the project; or grant partial tax relief in some form or another; or, in road and bridge projects, grant toll rights for a specific amount for a specific period, or divest a part of the land or some of the resources which lie on either side of the road which is being constructed.

30.II.5 Several advantages accrue to the host government through BOT type arrangements. BOT allows a country to obtain much-needed infrastructure project with little or no cost to taxpayers; the government incurs little or no risk as there are generally sufficient bonds in place, and sufficient letters of credit in hand to ensure completion of the project in the event that the sponsors default prior to project completion; the project will probably progress from concept to completion faster than if a government agency was involved; and, because the sponsors are usually required to operate and maintain the facility for periods longer than twenty years, the chances are good that its initial quality will be good.

30.II.6 It should be noted that when projects receive incomes from tolls, only the users of the BOT facilities are required to pay for them. The general public is therefore in no way taxed for the construction of the facility.

30.II.7.1 Although it is customary in Guyana to attribute our failure to develop rapidly almost exclusively to a shortage of financial resources, it is the strongly held view of the team which formulated this National Development Strategy that the major obstacle to its implementation might well be both the quality and quantity of the human resources that are now available in our country.

30.II.7.2 Guyana does not possess a critical mass of professionals, specialists, craftsmen, and entrepreneurs in virtually any sector of its economy. The problem is particularly grave in respect of trained teachers for both primary and secondary schools; university lecturers and professors; scientists; technologists; information technology experts; technicians of all sorts; foresters; agriculturalists and engineers of all disciplines. We are especially short, also, of policy analysts and personnel with the capability to negotiate agreements with the multinationals and other financiers. And yet, we will desperately require such people in order, for example, to conclude satisfactory BOT deals, to obtain the best returns for investment in our mining sector, and to make certain that our renewable natural resources are developed in such a way that both current and future generations would profit from their utilisation.

30.II.7.3 Training courses will therefore be immediately started in order to ensure that at least a minimum amount of such personnel are available in the medium term. The problem is where to acquire the necessary expertise and experience in the early critical and crucial years of the National Development Strategy. We propose to obtain them in several ways.

30.II.7.4 First, as part of the general process of gaining assistance from bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors to implement the National Development Strategy, it will be made clear that the receipt of technical assistance and personnel in several key areas is of paramount importance to our country’s development. Every effort will therefore be made to link such technical assistance to capital aid. Of greater significance, however, would be the necessity, in providing such help, to integrate it with the training of Guyanese citizens either on-the-job, or locally, or overseas, or through some combination of these three methods.

30.II.7.5 Second, every possible use will be made of the UNDP programme that is called Transfer Of Knowledge through Expatriate Nationals or TOKTEN. Through this scheme, Guyanese nationals living abroad will be paid by UNDP to return to their countries for specific activities and for specified periods. Many of these TOKTEN scholars will be provided with "repeat contracts" in order to allow them to come regularly to Guyana either to complete the tasks on which they were working or to undertake completely new assignments.

30.II.7.6 Third, a comprehensive but voluntary survey of Guyanese living overseas will be carried out, and a register subsequently prepared. Expatriate Gyanese will be asked to supply particulars of their qualifications and relevant experience either to our Embassies and High Commissioners abroad, or to a focal point in Guyana itself. It cannot be too strongly emphasised that they will be asked to volunteer this information. Once the data have been received and analysed, a number of paths will be pursued: (i) those Guyanese who have been identified as being in a position to assist the country as entrepreneurs, businessmen, and investors will be specifically invited either to return and do so, or to invest from abroad; (ii) those Guyanese whose qualifications and work experience indicate that they are particularly suited for specific available positions in the Public Service, will be invited to fill them; (iii) those Guyanaese who might want to assist their country but, for one reason or another, might find it difficult to remigrate permanently will be requested to return for specific assignments, from time to time, as required; and (iv) because there will almost inevitably be a number of tasks which, in this modern age of Information Technology, would not require the physical presence in Guyana of a number of Guyanese specialists, this last group of persons will be encouraged to utilise the computer and the internet to perform, from abroad, a wide range of duties.

30.II.7.7 It should not be necessary to stress that such arrangements will not be undertaken in an ad hoc manner, but will be based on a carefully conceived plan, which matches qualifications and experience to job availability, which provides an affordable package of emoluments, and which in general encourages the expatriate Guyanese to want to help the country.

30.II.7.8 It might still be necessary, however, even with these approaches, for us to utilise non-Guyanese in the implementation of the Strategy. We must therefore budget for these non-nationals just as we will have budgeted for the employment of both resident and non-residential Guyanese citizens. In other words, we must not be reluctant to employ foreigners if our situation demands it.

30.II.7.9 There is another dimension to the human resources aspect of strategy implementation. If the roads are built, if we penetrate our interior, if there is a splurge of economic activity throughout the length and breadth of Guyana as we have strategised, there would be a shortage of personnel both to work in the offices, factories and fields, and to buy the products of our efforts. It will be a circular problem, embracing the need for both producers and local consumers.

30.II.7.10 There will therefore be phased immigration into Guyana. A multi-political, multi-ethnic team of demographers, economists, specialists in agriculture and industry, and so on, will be established. The approach in this matter, as in all others, will be inclusive. The team’s task will be to assess the future demand for additional persons in the country, over a specified period, and make recommendations for meeting the demand. The team will not formulate policies and strategies for mass immigration. The number of immigrants, the phasing of their entry into the country, and the places in which they would be encouraged to locate, will be based on objective, rational assessments, in which the multi-cultural, and multi-racial composition of our country will have been taken into account.

30.II.8.1 A National Development Commission will be established. This Commission will comprise a small number of Commissioners, wholly drawn from Civil Society, who will be supported by a number of consultants and a secretariat. The main tasks of the Commission will be continuously to update the National Development Strategy, and to monitor its implementation.

30.II.8.2 In order effectively to undertake these duties, and to ensure the timely exchange of information between the Commission and the Government, legal links will be established between the Commission and Government’s own oversight committee.

30.II.8.3 The Commission will be required to report annually to Parliament on the status of the implementation of the National Development Strategy.