MINISTER of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh said, yesterday, that the resilience of the Guyanese economy in the face of very hostile external conditions and the robustness of the growth it has achieved is not an accidental accomplishment.

Rather, it is the result of a deliberate policy stance taken by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government over the years, he said at a PPP media briefing in Freedom House, Robb Street, Georgetown.
According to him, the continuous growth of the economy emerges directly from a policy stance that the Government has taken to ensure that all its policies also contribute to development in the country and the improvement of people’s lives.
The minister had stated, at a press conference last Friday night, that the economy recorded a 3.9 percent growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first half of 2013, continuing the trend of seven consecutive years.
Yesterday, he noted that this has been achieved notwithstanding the adverse circumstances of the global and regional economies and the domestic challenges faced by Guyana.
Singh said, underlying this growth, is very strong performance in a number of important sectors, among them, gold continued to perform extremely well, with a growth of 26.8 percent.
He said that was accomplished notwithstanding constant fluctuation in gold prices as the sector has invested significantly in productive capacity.
“Responding to the favourable policy environment that we have created the sector, obviously, persevered and continued to produce and did extremely well,” Singh remarked.
Outstanding producer
He said another outstanding producer is the rice sector, which grew by 25.1 percent, a showing he described as “extremely commendable”.
The minister remarked that the Government has invested significantly in this sector, as it relates to infrastructure, developing new lands, upgrading and improving drainage and irrigation infrastructure, developing research services, introducing new varieties and negotiating strong external markets.
Moreover, he said that Private Sector rice farmers and millers have responded by investing in their own productive capacity, expanding the acreage under cultivation, their equipment fleets and upgrading their mills.
The minister revealed that there was also broad-based growth in a number of other sectors, among them construction by 6.6 percent and the financial and insurance by 9.1 percent.
Singh said this reflects the work that the Government has done to promote diversification of the economy and, in particular, to facilitate the emergence of a broader productive base.
He acknowledged that it is not always evident how the pieces fit together but assured that the Government’s policies ensure economic growth in several areas.
“If you think about the Government’s housing programme, the work that we have done to develop new lands for housing, the policies that we have implemented to promote affordable low income housing, the fact that we have said that we would like every Guyanese family to be able to live in their own homes…all of those policies come together to promote very buoyant activities,” he posited.
Singh observed that, as a result of the growing housing sector, there is also strong growth in construction and financial services.
Key indicators
Meanwhile, he said the mid-year report documents a number of other key indicators of strong performance in the economy, including continued dynamic growth in Private Sector credit, by 4.8 percent.
In addition, he reported that inflation was contained to 0.2 percent in the first half of the year.
The minister emphasised that one must not take for granted the growth that the economy has attained but said it is important that what is required to entrench it long term is done now.
He said large transformational projects, such as the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, are precisely what are needed to lay the foundation for that long term growth.