The Economist - UK (2022-03-26)

42 TheAmericas TheEconomistMarch26th 2022

lookfartoseehowthingscouldgowrong.

Tothewestis Venezuela,whereoilhas

bankrolleda corruptsocialistdictatorship

thathasimpoverisheditspeople.(Indeed,

oilexplorationinGuyanawasdelayedfor

yearsbya territorialdisputewithVenezue­

la,andanxioustypesstillmutterthatits

despotmightonedaytrytoinvade.)Tothe

north,inTrinidad&Tobago,anoilboom

broughtsocialdiscontentandcrime.In­

deedstudiesshowthat,ifacountryhas

stronginstitutions,oilcanfostergrowth,

asinNorwayandCanada.Buta “resource

curse”oftenblightscountrieswithweak

institutions,whererent­seekersgobbleup

theproceeds.

AshniSingh,Guyana’sfinanceminis­

ter,talksabouteconomic“diversification”.

Butthereisnodoubtthecountryisgrow­

ingdependentononeindustry.Bythegov­

ernment’s own estimates, the economy

willexpand48%thisyear.Takeoutoil,and

it willgrowbylessthan8%.

Itisfarfromclearhowmuchoftheoil

money will reach ordinary people. Off­

shoreoilrigsdonothiremanyworkers.

Thedrillinghappensthousandsofmetres

underwater;machinesdomostofit.The

smallnumberofmaintenancestaffonthe

oilplatformsneedspecialtraining.Exxon­

Mobilemploysjustover 180 peopleinthe

country.Thecompanyreckonsitsopera­

tionshavecreatedjobsindirectlyforabout

6,000more.About60%ofthemareGuya­

nese.But not many Guyanese have the

skillsneededtorunanoffshoreoilopera­

tionsafely.High­skilledworkersarebeing

broughtinfromotheroil­producingcoun­

triesinstead.

Localfirmsarenotwinningmanybig

contracts.Only afewcompanies inthe

worldcan producethepipes orwidgets

usedonhigh­techoilplatforms.Newrules

pushedthroughparliamentinDecember

requireenergycompaniestobuycertain

basicgoodsandservices fromGuyanese

businesses,suchaslaundryandcatering.

Butitisanuphillstruggle.Multinational

oilcompaniesrequireinternationallyre­

cognisedqualityandsafetycertifications,

which fewlocalfirmshave.ExxonMobil

saysitspent$220mwithlocalsuppliers

lastyear—alargesumrelativetoGuyana’s

gdp, whichin 2021 was$6bn.Butit issmall

relativetothecompany’soverallexpendi­

tureontheprojectintheperiod,which

RystadEnergyreckonswasover$900m.

Meanwhiletheeconomymaybeover­

heating. Georgetown Chamber of Com­

merceandIndustry,a businesslobby,says

localfirmsarelosingtheirbestworkersto

theoilindustryandstrugglingtogethold

ofbasicgoods,likesandforconstruction.

Globalsupply­chainproblemsandgeopo­

litical instability have not helped. Con­

sumerpricesinGeorgetownrose1.5%in

Januaryalone,takingannualinflationto

5.8%,itshighestin 20 years.

Perhapsthebiggestriskiscorruption.

ThetwolargestethnicgroupsinGuyana

arethoseofAfricanandIndiandescent.

Theydonottrusteachothermuch.Succes­

sivegovernments,underthelargelyIndo­

Guyanese People’s ProgressiveParty and

theAfro­GuyanesePeople’sNationalCon­

gress Reform,have favoured their own.

Cronyismisrife.Localbusinessmencom­

plainitisonlythosewithfriendsinhigh

placeswhowinbigdealsandtopjobsin

theoilindustry.(Presumablythisisnot

trueofjobsrequiringtechnicalskillsthat

arehardtofake.)Analystsworrythereis

littletransparencysurroundingthesover­

eign­wealth fund, the rulesthat dictate

howmuchthegovernmentcanwithdraw

andwherethemoneyisspent.InFebruary

Vice News, a website, accused the vice­

presidentofacceptingkickbacksfromChi­

nesebusinessmen.Hedeniesthis.

Outsidethecapitalsomeremainscepti­

calofblackgold’spotential.GaryGrant,the

55­year­oldestate manageratthePome­

roonTradingcoconutfarm,hasbeenalive

almostexactlyaslongasGuyanahasbeen

independent,andseenethnicandpolitical

divisionsrepeatedlyholdhiscountryback.

Heisenragedbyrisinginflationandglar­

inginequality.“WhenGuyanafoundoilI

wasoptimistic,”hesays.“ButI’mnotso

optimisticanymore.”n

Definitely not boring

Guyana

Sources:RystadEnergy;IMF

1.8 Estimate Forecast

1.5

1.2

0.9

0.6

0.3

0

2018 504540353025

ProductionestimateattheStabroekblock*

Millionbarrelsofoilequivalentperday

*Oilfieldapproximately 150 km(90 miles) oshore from Guyana

50

40

30

20

10

0

232221201918172016

GDP, % increase on a year earlier

New discoveries

Under

development

Producing

SportinBrazil

Bowling

maidens over

A

spa town in  the  foothills  of  coffee

country  may  not  be  the  likeliest  place

to find a cricket revolution. But at a crum­

bling country club in Poços de Caldas, a ci­

ty of 170,000 people, the Brazilian national

team is in full swing. Funk music blasts as

women  in  brightly  coloured  shirts  spin

balls into nets. They stop only to laugh, to

check on a teammate’s baby and, when the

clouds  start  to  swell,  to  duck  out  of  the

summer rains. It is a far cry from the kind

of cricket first played in Brazil in the 1850s.

Then it was the pastime of British railway

workers. Today it is for Brazilians.

Brazil’s  embrace  of  cricket  began  two

decades  ago,  when  Matt  Featherstone,  a

club player from Britain, noticed that there

was  a  street  version  of  cricket  called  taco.

He began swapping bottles for stumps, and

encouraging kids to bowl overarm not un­

der.  By  2009  it  had  become  a  regular  pro­

gramme under the banner of Cricket Brasil,

which is partly funded by the International

Cricket Council. 

It was not an instant hit. “I’m not going

to play that shit,” was Renata de Sousa’s re­

sponse when invited to play as a teenager.

But  the  camaraderie  of  the  game  won  her

and  others  over.  Today  a  scholarship

scheme puts the best players through uni­

versity and into coaching. There are teams

for  the  blind  and  disabled.  In  Poços  more

children  now  hit  balls  with  bats  than

boots, with over 5,000 playing in total.

This  is  remarkable  not  only  because

P OÇOS DE CALDAS

Cricket is gaining popularity,

particularly among women