By Kurt Campbell
President Irfaan Ali has described Guyana’s economic advancement in 2022 as remarkable and he believes it requires a study by international agencies.
With a projected growth of 58.7 pre cent by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Guyana is ranked number one in the world and Fiji is second with a projected economic growth of 12.5 per cent.
And although Guyana’s ranking is because it is the newest oil producer in the world, the country still maintains a ranking among the top five countries when its growth is calculated solely on the non-oil sectors.
“Outside of oil, Guyana’s economic growth would have still ranked fifth in the world,” Dr. Ali noted that Guyana’s growth was more than four times that of Fiji.
He said this is a direct result of the government’s investment in the non-oil sectors.
The non-oil economy is projected to grow by 9.5 per cent this year.
Based on figures supplied by Dr. Ali during an address broadcast live on his Facebook page on Saturday from State House, there was positive growth across all sectors based on the half year projections and the most recent outlook in October.
In agriculture, other crops saw growth rates at 17.9 per cent; quarrying and mining is 11 per cent; construction grew by 19 per cent while wholesale and retail trade expanded by 12.5 per cent.
“This is because there is greater spending power and more resources are available to people,” Dr. Ali said.
With non-performing loans also declining rapidly, the President detailed a 13 per cent growth in transport and storage and an 18 per cent growth in accommodation and food.
“These are a direct result of the confidence in the economy and more medium and smaller scale enterprises are investing in a diversified portfolio.”
Guyana managed to keep inflation single digit with a projection of seven per cent which is below the global inflation rate.
“We have seen the true results of policies and programs of this PPP/C government.
“We have been repairing the neglect and decay across sectors over the last two years and rebuilding the supporting frameworks.
“In the coming years you will see in a greater sense the impact of investment being made now,” the Head of State boasted.
At the end of the first half of the year, consumer prices were 4.9 per cent higher than at end of 2021 and Dr. Ali reminded of the many measures implemented to ease the burden on the population.
In the oil and gas sector, there are to be 13 lifts of profit oil this year with over US$1 billion in revenue and US$150 million in royalty.
“Some of the things done in the last year at the community level and in different sectors were to ensure we are building a strong sustainable resilient economy in 2023 and beyond.
“We have seen the transformation of the infrastructural landscape and improvement in social welfare,” Dr. Ali added.
He said the government has built and maintained more than 180 bridges in 2022 and some 1,651 kilometers of roads.
Similar improvements were done in sea defence and hinterland airstrips and the President has said the “country is on the move.”
He spoke briefly about investment in security with a decline of 19.5 per cent in serious crimes and a detection rate for murder at an all-time high at 80 per cent.
“These are the numbers; this is the result of the investment we are making and I want the population to understand… the investment we are making as a country is bearing the necessary fruit that will take out country forward.”
The President also noted investments in the housing, education and health sectors.
