SINCE the inception of the PPP/Civic in 1992, economic and social developments have been commendable noting the improved macroeconomic performance over the years and the increased access to health and social services in Guyana. This is a clear indication that the government is not only morally responsible, but socially and economically responsible for improved livelihoods of the Guyanese people. Mr. Carl Greenidge should be ashamed to talk about the political and economic conditions of the past and present under the PPP when he was well aware of the economic chaos under the PNC rule during the 1970s and 1980s. Cheddi Jagan in his book, ‘The West on Trial: My Fight for Guyana’s Freedom’, stated that Mr. Greenidge, who was Finance Minster under the PNC administrations, 1983-1992, in the budget speech in 1984, expressed that “The production sector of Guyana has undergone a marked decline over the last three years. All appears daunting. I can offer no comforting solutions which will allow us to survive and prosper”. During this period, the economy was in a state of socio-economic decline under the party’s dictatorship.
Guyana’s structural adjustment and stabilization programme came into effect with the launching of the Economic Recovery Programme in 1989. The ERP was initiated due a failure of the PNC’s dictatorship regime and state-controlled economic structure the party had embarked on for almost two decades (1971 – 1988). This state-controlled economic structure resulted in a huge foreign debt, exorbitant spending on state-owned enterprises and high levels of poverty. During the process of the structural adjustment plan, the economy began to move away from dictatorship and the state-controlled economy structure to an open market economy. This new policy allowed for a reduction of government spending while focusing on development of sectors in the economy that needed to be reformed to improve productivity and growth. Hence, the ERP was initiated to clean up the mess of the ruling of PNC.

UNTIDINESS
Also, under the PNC, common attributes of untidiness, lackadaisical and untimely behaviours with respect to auditing were evident; and Mr. Greenidge as former PNC Finance Minister, portrayed those same characteristics. In some cases, under the PNC rule and even under Mr. Greenidge’s watch, it took the auditing of government accounts almost eight to ten years to be presented to Parliament.
It is shocking that Mr. Greenidge indicated that Guyana recorded unemployment levels of 43% in the Guyana 2000 Labour Force Survey, when Guyana’ s unemployment levels fluctuated between 11 percent and 12 percent between 1992 and 2007, and these levels are relatively low compared to the Caribbean region. World Economic Forum: Global Competitive Report 2010-2011 shows that Guyana is now in the transition stage to becoming an efficiency-driven economy from being a factor-driven economy. One of the requirements for such transition is that income thresholds for establishing stages of development for countries evaluated is GDP per capita, which is between US$2000 – US$3000. For 2010-2011, Guyana’s rank for Global Competitiveness Index 2009-2010, out of 132 countries, was 104; its 2010-2011 rank among 2009 countries is 109 and its 2010-2011 rank is 110 out of 139 countries. This is telling us that Guyana has an improved macroeconomic environment and that the Guyana economy is not stagnant, but progressing, albeit slowly. But, look at the international financial meltdown and the sluggish global economy in order to understand Guyana’s economic scenario.

ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE DISASTROUS
Cheddi Jagan also wrote that under the PNC, Desmond Hoyte, as Vice-President in 1981, said that the performance of the economy “was disastrous”. The economy had been in such turmoil that Guyana could not get access to credit anywhere. The PNC Finance Minister added, “The total national savings stand at zero. Guyana has reached the stage where neither our debt at home nor abroad can be paid”. Hoyte said “With a deficit of such magnitude, we are clearly not running a viable system.”
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) stated, “In March 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank, Guyana’s principal donor, canceled Guyana’s nearly $470 million debt, equivalent to nearly 48% of GDP, which, along with other Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt forgiveness, brought the debt-to-GDP ratio down from 183% in 2006 to 120% in 2007.” It indicated that heavy indebtedness was as a result of the inward-looking, state-led development model pursued in the 1970s and 1980s, and the economic collapse under the PNC dictatorship. Debt-to-GDP ratio is one of the indicators of the health of an economy, and it is said to be the amount of national debt of a country as a percentage of its GDP. Therefore, a low debt-to-GDP ratio indicates an economy is able to produce more goods and services and is able to repay its debt due to higher profits made.

NO LONGER A LOW INCOME COUNTRY
And, Guyana is no longer a low income country, but a middle income country, indicating that the economy is experiencing favorable economic growth. According to the United Nations Development Program, for 2010, Guyana Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (PPP US$) is 3, 302 indicating an increase of 59 percent during the period 1980 and 2010. Important to note that the GNI per capita in 1980 was $2,076 and this declined to $1, 137 in 1990 and started to increase until 1995 and continues to increase giving its 2010 value of $3,302.
Further, Guyana has been able to maintain financial stability over the years, especially during the 2008 financial crisis. The foreign exchange rate has been relatively stable and this encourages investment because foreign investors can be less exposed to risk and uncertainty associated with frequent fluctuations in the exchange rates. Government keeps a close watch on inflation, ensuring this too remains stable. Inflation remains at a single digit and is expected to be at an average of 5% for the coming years, (World Bank 2009-2012 Guyana report).
There has been an increase in United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI) value for Guyana for the year 2010. Between 1980 and 2010, Guyana’s HDI value increased from 0.500 to 0.611, an increase of 22 per cent or average annual increase of about 0.7 per cent. With Guyana’s HDI 2010 value at 0.611, in the medium human development category, we are now ranked at 104 out of 169 countries. It is notable that from 1980 to 1990, the value of 0.500 was declining to 0.472, and until 1995, it starts to increase to 0.522. The improvement of health and social services, especially to the elderly people of Guyana, has enabled Guyana’s life expectancy to reach 71. 07 (CIA, 2011 est.) years for female and 63.27 (CIA, 2011 est.) years for males, a sign that Guyana’s population is aging well and has the resources and capacity to provide for the young, elderly, and vulnerable.
According to the Bank of Guyana first half year 2011 report, Guyana’s economy grew by 5.9 percent, building on the achievement of five consecutive years of positive growth since 2006. The report stated that “the (sugar) sector returned a 2011 first crop of 106,871 tons, reflecting a 30.5 percent increase over the first crop of 2010 and the best first crop performance since 2004,”. In 1989 sugar recorded 164,000 tons, and in 1990, it was 129, 000 tons. The decline in sugar has its genesis during the rule of PNC era in the 1980s. Also, sugar was being imported from Guatemala. Perhaps Mr. Greenidge had forgotten that Guyana is a sugar-producing country.
As a potential leader, it is a disappointment that Mr. Greenidge stated that the presidency has a moral responsibility to the young people, and he is committing immorality by misinforming his supporters and everyone in general. Guyana has come a long way and we have to learn to accept achievements our country has made since 1992. The information is available for all Guyanese to examine and evaluate what is factual and moral.
We cannot let people who do not take time to do proper research and scrutiny of the evidence, feed us with their ridiculous opinions that are not even half -truths.