Guyana’s overall economic future has changed drastically

Dear Editor,
The perspective on Guyana’s overall economic future has changed drastically since the advent of the President Irfaan Ali-led Government.
The Coalition Government was bereft of ideas of managing the country, and demonstrated a proclivity to corruption, leading to a situation where Guyana’s economy was rapidly spiralling downward. The approach of the coalition Government for generating income for public coffers by increasing the taxation regime to unbearable and unsustainable levels was counter-productive to social development, especially with their penchant for borrowing unsustainably and spending on projects that lack national importance.
Guyana: 2017 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; IMF report stated, inter alia:
“Despite slower-than-expected economic growth, fiscal revenue increased owing to improvements in tax administration and higher mining royalties.”
“Improvements in tax administration” did not take into consideration the ensuing social impacts on the overall economy as a result of reduced spending power and increase in prices, because businesses could only remain viable by offsetting their increased taxation burdens by increasing costs for goods and services to consumers.
Guyana’s learned Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon. Anil Nandlall, often alludes to some of the many violations by the coalition Government that infracted the Constitution of Guyana and the prerequisites of international democratic norms and conventions, and he especially emphasises on the situation as it related to the corrupt practices of the coalition Government. One of the numerous infractions of our Constitution was made by then President Granger himself when it came to choosing a chairman for GECOM, with Granger rejecting three lists submitted by then Opposition Leader Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo — as required by law — on nebulous, contentious grounds, and unilaterally choosing someone with open loyalties to the PNC, which precluded impartial resonances within GECOM deliberations and decisions. Mr. Nandlall was of the view that, “…the smallest child in this country can read and understand what Article 161 (2) of the Constitution says and what it means.” He further argued, “…simple words that we know from since nursery school, like O-R – or, and what it means, which have thrown this country into chaos….”
It is being openly touted that Guyana is the only country projected to record double-digit growth from this year on. The World Bank concludes that Guyana “is set to record real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 25.2 per cent this year, 21.2 per cent next year and 28.2 per cent in 2025.”
The Guyana Chronicle, in its April 22, 2023 edition, reported, “The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in its latest report, projected 37.2 per cent economic growth for this year. This is the case while other regions are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and recording low economic growth.
“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had reported, too, that Guyana is on course to record economic growth of 37.2 per cent by the end of this year.
“The IMF, in its latest publication, ‘the World Economic Outlook: A rocky recovery’, reported that real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth could be even higher next year, reaching 45.3 per cent.
“Recently, the World Bank projected that this year is going to be “substantially bleaker” for Latin American and the Caribbean region than it was last year, but Guyana is yet again expected to stand out among its counterparts with economic growth projected to hover above 20 per cent over the next three years.”
Through prudent and brilliant fiscal management, Guyana is once again becoming “the only shining star of the Caribbean.”

Yours truly,
Brian Azore