Guyana overtaken by other countries in human development – Ali

Global indices

In the last three years, Guyana has slid downwards on three major international indices that measure the personal development of a country’s citizens. And it is a fact that has not gone unnoticed by the parliamentary Opposition.
According to Opposition parliamentarian Irfaan Ali, the statistics tell a story of a country that has been losing its international rankings when it comes to things like unemployment rates, education, and youth literacy.
“Various international organisations, such as World Economic Forum, through a series of annual countries’ assessment, inadvertently espouse the axiom that ‘Guyana is in reverse mode’,” Ali pointed out.
“In 2017, the Global Human Capital index, a report that ranks countries according to their effectiveness and level of human capital development, demoted Guyana below its 2015 global position of 79, by nine positions, surpassing frail economies

such as Uganda, Zambia and Kenya,” he continued.
This report was published by the World Economic Forum in September of 2017. Indeed, a perusal of this index shows that Guyana is below the global average for human capital development, nestled between South Africa and Myanmar. According to Ali, key indicators reveal that in one year Guyana has slipped in unemployment rates for age groups 25-54 and 55-64.
“Ironically, the Government boasts of job creation.

Furthermore, between 2015- 2017, the country’s global ranking fell by another seven positions, in relation to quality of primary education of children, age 0-15 years. Overall, Guyana has slipped by eight positions in global ranking, in the quality of educational services provided to children, age 15-24,” Ali stated.
He also quoted from the 2016 Human Development Report published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), noting that Guyana has also deteriorated globally by several places on the Human Development Index. He pointed out that countries like Namibia have surpassed Guyana in the global rankings.
“In the health sector, when compared to 2013, infant mortality rates per 1000 live births have increased to 32 in 2015. Similarly, infants under five months have seen an increase in mortality rate per 1000 live births (to 39) during similar period. Adults, on the other hand, have seen an increase in deaths due to tuberculosis to 21, in 2015,” Ali pointed out.
He also pointed out that the latest Global Competitive Index Reports, for the period 2015-2016, saw Guyana fall in the global rankings to 121.
“Institutions, one of the fundamental pillars that command global ranking, deteriorated to 102 in 2016. Property rights, bribes, favouritism, wasteful spending, and organised crime have all seen massive deterioration in ranking,” Ali noted.
“The question that begs to be answered is, how could this government speak of development, wealth generation, and the ‘good life’, when we are clearly, from all indications, in reverse mode?” he questioned.