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AS Guyana gears to celebrate its 47th anniversary as a Republic, the country yet remains at a developmental crossroad in terms of overcoming political instability and propelling economic growth. While the country has grown tremendously for such a young nation, it remains clear that this growth is challenged by the current political dispensation, specifically the persistent negativity spewed by the Opposition.
President Donald Ramotar, in his New Year’s message, alluded to the positive developments that occurred last year, especially on the economic front, and the four per cent growth in the country’s Gross Domestic Product for 2012 at a time when many countries were recording deficits.
It goes without saying that Guyana has fared better than most of its Caribbean sisters in recent years, but many remain convinced that it could have done much better, had there not been obstacles in the way.
Government and private investors have undertaken major development projects and business ventures that have aided development and job creation, but attracting foreign investment has been challenging, particularly since many of these investments, including the Marriot Hotels project, have been met with hostility from the political opposition.
As was recently underscored by People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s Parliamentarian, Manzoor Nadir, the constant political negativity and crusade against government have been affecting progress and business in the country, which does not augur well for investment and job creating.
Ari Aisen and Francisco Jose Veiga, authors of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Working Paper titled, ‘How Does Political Instability Affect Economic Growth?’ have found that indeed “political instability significantly reduces economic growth, both statistically and economically.”
Using a dataset covering up to 169 countries in the period between 1960 and 2004, they also found that “political instability is particularly harmful through its adverse effects on total factor productivity growth and, in a lesser scale, by discouraging physical and human capital accumulation.”
It was further determined that “governments in politically fragmented countries with high degrees of political instability need to address its root causes, and try to mitigate its effects on the design and implementation of economic policies. Only then, countries could have durable economic policies that may engender higher economic growth.”
As President Ramotar pointed out in his New Year’s Message to the nation, there is need for increased dialogue and discussion in the society. He however expressed concern that while government remains committed to working with the Opposition, and has moved even more than halfway to meet the opposition and compromise, the same willingness is not being seen from the other side.
“I urge the collective opposition to reconsider its positions and recommit itself to the betterment of our country and the lives of the citizens of our Guyana,” the President said, adding that he was willing to work with those interested in Guyana’s socio-economic development.
In turn, the Opposition has waged a crusade against government programmes, policies, initiatives and personalities, mainly in pursuit of partisan interests, all the while damaging the country’s image, an image which is critical to attracting investment and creating much needed jobs for Guyanese.
Only recently, prominent businessman and former Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Captain Gerry Gouveia condemned this trend as a “a mere reflection of a negative perception that is being created by some individuals” whom he described as “negaholics” and “prophets of doom”.
“What I believe the people involved in this campaign are not realizing,” Gouveia was quoted as saying at the time, “is that this is not just the government they are hurting. They are actually attempting to hurt job creation in Guyana, which is one of the greatest challenges facing Guyanese leaders today…not only job creation but how we create proper paying jobs for our young people.”
The only way to boost job creation, he advised, was to enhance investor confidence. And, for this to be done, he said, an enabling environment needs to be created.
“So we have to have respect for law and order, respect for property rights and, more
importantly, we have to have peace and security and stability in our country,” Gouveia said.
Gouveia was at the time responding to Transparency International’s findings on corruption in Guyana. The TI 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), ranked Guyana 133 amongst 174 countries.
While Gouveia did not deny that corruption does exist her, he said people have been spreading rumours and misinformation, and that this campaign is hurting the entire country and its image and will affect investor confidence and hinder job creation.
In addition, he related that it is important to ensure that the image of the country on the international arena is not one of gloom and doom, especially since key multilateral financial institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) statistics suggest otherwise.
In fact, the IMF Executive Directors have commended Government’s policies which have supported the country’s macroeconomic resilience and sustained growth. In a Public Information Notice posted by the IMF on November 29 last, the IMF has projected that Guyana’s annual Gross Domestic Product will grow from 3.7% in 2012 to 5.5% in 2013, as opposed to a projected four percent for the Caribbean and Latin American Region.
President Donald Ramotar, in his New Year’s message, alluded to the positive developments that occurred last year, especially on the economic front, and the four per cent growth in the country’s Gross Domestic Product for 2012 at a time when many countries were recording deficits.
It goes without saying that Guyana has fared better than most of its Caribbean sisters in recent years, but many remain convinced that it could have done much better, had there not been obstacles in the way.
Government and private investors have undertaken major development projects and business ventures that have aided development and job creation, but attracting foreign investment has been challenging, particularly since many of these investments, including the Marriot Hotels project, have been met with hostility from the political opposition.
As was recently underscored by People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s Parliamentarian, Manzoor Nadir, the constant political negativity and crusade against government have been affecting progress and business in the country, which does not augur well for investment and job creating.
Ari Aisen and Francisco Jose Veiga, authors of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Working Paper titled, ‘How Does Political Instability Affect Economic Growth?’ have found that indeed “political instability significantly reduces economic growth, both statistically and economically.”
Using a dataset covering up to 169 countries in the period between 1960 and 2004, they also found that “political instability is particularly harmful through its adverse effects on total factor productivity growth and, in a lesser scale, by discouraging physical and human capital accumulation.”
It was further determined that “governments in politically fragmented countries with high degrees of political instability need to address its root causes, and try to mitigate its effects on the design and implementation of economic policies. Only then, countries could have durable economic policies that may engender higher economic growth.”
As President Ramotar pointed out in his New Year’s Message to the nation, there is need for increased dialogue and discussion in the society. He however expressed concern that while government remains committed to working with the Opposition, and has moved even more than halfway to meet the opposition and compromise, the same willingness is not being seen from the other side.
“I urge the collective opposition to reconsider its positions and recommit itself to the betterment of our country and the lives of the citizens of our Guyana,” the President said, adding that he was willing to work with those interested in Guyana’s socio-economic development.
In turn, the Opposition has waged a crusade against government programmes, policies, initiatives and personalities, mainly in pursuit of partisan interests, all the while damaging the country’s image, an image which is critical to attracting investment and creating much needed jobs for Guyanese.
Only recently, prominent businessman and former Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Captain Gerry Gouveia condemned this trend as a “a mere reflection of a negative perception that is being created by some individuals” whom he described as “negaholics” and “prophets of doom”.
“What I believe the people involved in this campaign are not realizing,” Gouveia was quoted as saying at the time, “is that this is not just the government they are hurting. They are actually attempting to hurt job creation in Guyana, which is one of the greatest challenges facing Guyanese leaders today…not only job creation but how we create proper paying jobs for our young people.”
The only way to boost job creation, he advised, was to enhance investor confidence. And, for this to be done, he said, an enabling environment needs to be created.
“So we have to have respect for law and order, respect for property rights and, more
importantly, we have to have peace and security and stability in our country,” Gouveia said.
Gouveia was at the time responding to Transparency International’s findings on corruption in Guyana. The TI 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), ranked Guyana 133 amongst 174 countries.
While Gouveia did not deny that corruption does exist her, he said people have been spreading rumours and misinformation, and that this campaign is hurting the entire country and its image and will affect investor confidence and hinder job creation.
In addition, he related that it is important to ensure that the image of the country on the international arena is not one of gloom and doom, especially since key multilateral financial institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) statistics suggest otherwise.
In fact, the IMF Executive Directors have commended Government’s policies which have supported the country’s macroeconomic resilience and sustained growth. In a Public Information Notice posted by the IMF on November 29 last, the IMF has projected that Guyana’s annual Gross Domestic Product will grow from 3.7% in 2012 to 5.5% in 2013, as opposed to a projected four percent for the Caribbean and Latin American Region.
