WE are just a few weeks away from the elections that will offer the Guyanese electorate an opportunity to select a new government to lead the country for the next five years. Given our struggle for ‘free and fair’ elections, all eligible voters have a moral duty to ensure that they go out and vote solidly for the political party with the track record and economic vision required to continue the economic and social progress made over the past few decades.
Fortunately,the task confronting eligible voters is simple, since they are limited only to two political parties, namely the PPP-C and APNU (formerly, the PNC).

Further, we have sufficient information and knowledge of each party’s economic vision and capacity to manage the economic affairs of the country. For those who are unaware of our economic history, I will venture to summarize this for you given that there are concerted and deliberate efforts by some with narrow political interests to distort the facts about our economic performance since Guyana’s independence.
As you are aware, the PNC (now APNU) managed our country from the time we gained political independence up until 1992, while the PPP/C assumed office in 1992 and continued since. When the PNC (now APNU) took control over our country’s economy, it was comparable to Barbados; the most developed country in the Caribbean region (see Table 1 below).

Source: Grenade, K. and Lewis-Bynoe, D. (2011), ‘Reflecting on Development Outcomes: A Comparative Analysis of Barbados and Guyana.’ Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies, 36 (1): 21-42,page 6.
However, the country’s social and economic performance was abysmal during the 28 years the PNC managed our economic affairs. In fact, under the PNC’s watch, the economy collapsed and Guyana became the second poorest country in the Caribbean. This resulted in the weakening of our institutions, mass migration of our most educated people, an expansion of the underground economy, and the deterioration in social and economic infrastructure. The graph below provides a clear picture of what occurred under the PNC’s rule.
Figure 1

Source: Kari Grenade and Sukrishnalall Pasha (2011). ‘Guyana’s Recent Growth Turnaround: Good Luck or Good Policy or Both?’ Paper to be presented at the 43rdAnnual Monetary Studies Conference, Barbados, page 3.
Thanks to democracy, we were able to vote into office the PPP/C which has managed our economy remarkably well since 1992. This fact is clearly reflected by the graph above which shows that the country’s economic performance was outstanding under the stewardship of the PPP. Based on the graph, the growth in real GDP was positive in every year, except for a few years between 1998 and 2005.
The negative growth rates reported during this period were due primarily to the adverse impact of climate change (that is, changes in weather conditions –  El Nino and La Nina phenomena) as well as the social and political instability induced by the PNC’s campaign of ‘More Fire’.
Despite the many challenges, however, the country’s performance was not stymied owing largely to the economic programmes developed and implemented by the PPP/C government.
Indeed, according to a study by Kari Grenade and Dr. Denny Lewis-Bynoe entitled ‘Reflecting on Development Outcomes: A Comparative Analysis of Barbados and Guyana’ the long-run growth rates between Barbados and Guyana has been narrowing since 2000 (see Graph 2).
In this study, the authors attributed the strong performance to several factors, including prudent macro-economic management and consolidation, institutional strengthening, greater social cohesion and political stability.
The strong economic performance over the past 19 years has allowed the PPP/C government to increase spending in the social sector which in turn contributed positively to the improvement in the well-being of all the citizens of Guyana. A casual inspection of a number of social facilities currently available and the quality of services offered would confirm this fact. For instance, today we have more hospitals, schools, and water-treatment plants etc., all of which are offering high-quality services. It is not surprising therefore that the Human Development Index improved continuously from 2006 to 2010.
Figure 2

Source: Grenade, K. and Lewis-Bynoe, D. (2011), ‘Reflecting on Development Outcomes: A Comparative Analysis of Barbados and Guyana.’ Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies, 36 (1): 21-42, page 23.
Based on the foregoing, there can be no dispute that the PPP/C has managed our economic affairs better than the PNC (which is now working under the camouflage of APNU).
With respect to the economic vision advanced by the two major political parties, the PPP/C may be credited for offering a range of innovative development strategies which will certainly consolidate the gains enjoyed under their stewardship.
In closing, I would like to encourage all eligible voters to consider the facts carefully before they cast their votes. We cannot afford to risk our future with those who lack vision and have a proven track record of gross mismanagement in the recent past.