– from a basket case to a breadbasket and model country
Clearly, since 1990, our country has been a different country, and people see Guyana in a more positive light. For certain, we are no longer one of the most indebted countries in the world; and, in fact, Guyana stands as one of the very few countries with a debt-to-GDP ratio that is considered favourable and sustainable. Definitely, Guyana is no longer categorized by any international organization as a highly indebted poor country (HIPC), as it was in 1990, and throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. The country has been able, after almost three decades post-independence, to conduct elections that have been declared by the UN, the Commonwealth, the OAS, CARICOM, and all independent international observer groups as free and fair.
It is true that Guyana, in partnership with international collaborators, had to fight in 2020 to prevent one group from rigging the results, but the elections were free and fair, and the attempt to rig the results was unsuccessful. We are truly a genuine democracy.
For a country that, for decades before 1992, suffered from negative economic growth, Guyana today has had almost four years of the highest economic growth rates in the world. Then and now, Guyana is a very different country on three fronts: food security, energy security, and climate and environmental security.
Guyana has become a global leader. President Irfaan Ali has built on the legacy of Cheddi Jagan and Bharrat Jagdeo to become one of the most inspirational leaders in the global movement for food security. In his 25 X 25 food security revolution, he seeks to literally drag Caricom to reduce its importation of food by 25% by 2025. He has been a pivotal player in the transformation of Guyana’s agriculture to provide Caricom with an alternative source of food. From being an importer of corn and soya for stockfeed to support the poultry and livestock industries, Guyana is now poised to meet all our own needs by 2025, and also, between 2025 and 2028, to be an exporter to other Caricom countries.
President Ali’s 25 X 25 food security agenda – the Irfaan Ali Initiative 2020 – builds on the Jagdeo Initiative, which in 2010 urged Caricom to address the trade, transportation, storage, manufacturing, quality, and regulatory deficiencies that forced the region to import food at that time worth more than US$5B annually. From a moribund response to the Jagdeo Initiative, Caricom has fully and enthusiastically embraced the Ali Initiative, and this gives us hope that the Ali Initiative would succeed.
In 2010, when President Jagdeo launched Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), few believed that Guyana would become a leader in the world’s climate and environmental security movement. But Guyana’s bold move — sacrificing income by committing to preserving our forest, and therefore preserving one of the world’s most important carbon sinks — is now paying off. The then Norway deal was squandered when Guyana, under another government, briefly abandoned the LCDS, did bring Guyana approximately US$250M; but now Guyana has become the world’s first country with formally certified carbon credit. A portion of that credit has already been sold for US$750M. In addition, Guyana has been certified to sell carbon credits to the airline industry, which has been mandated to cut its carbon emissions.
On the global stage, President Ali and VP Jagdeo are now among the most-sought -after leaders in the world in the fight to achieve climate and environmental security.
During the 2015 election campaign, some naysayers doubted the then Guyana Government when it announced the findings that would make Guyana an oil producer and an oil-economy. It is less than ten years hence, and Guyana has become one of the most important oil and gas exporting countries. The revenues — even when the PSA with the oil companies was extremely lopsided in favour of Big Oil — have helped Guyana to diversify its economy, build its social and economic infrastructure, and achieve the highest growth rates in the world in the last four years.
Guyana is definitely the country that is on everybody’s mind right now. Foreign investments have reached unbelievable heights, far more than anyone ever could have dreamt possible for Guyana. Our country is changing at a dizzying pace right before our eyes. It is in this context that many people in and out of Guyana worry a little bit about our political stability. It is therefore reassuring to see that our main political parties have held their party congress. A country’s democracy cannot be guaranteed if political parties do not subscribe to internal democratic practices. Holding their congress, albeit late in all cases, is a prerequisite to achieving internal democracy. While the governing party held a smooth, concern-free congress, the opposition parties held congresses that did not meet the “smell test”. Guyana can benefit from some sort of agreement through parliamentary action to ensure that no political party and institution responsible for conducting elections behave in a manner that ever makes it possible to rig elections. We had a near-miss in 2020. It must never happen again.
Racial and ethnic unity remains a challenge in our country. It was good to see that all three political parties, during their congresses in May and June, committed to racial, ethnic and religious unity. A cautionary note to these political parties must be evident – talk is cheap. The PPP congress ended with a perception that that party looks like Guyana, with all ethnic groups represented and playing a role. That congress embraced President Ali’s ONE GUYANA Movement. The other two political parties ended their congress looking more and more racially homogenous, out of sync with the country.
But good things are happening in our country. This past week, ten new puisne judges were appointed and sworn-in. Eight of these ten judges are women, demonstrating that, in Guyana, the glass ceiling clearly has been shattered. All these young new judges have had distinguished legal careers so far. Guyana’s judiciary appears to be in good hands.
