– CDB President

THERE was a time when hardly anyone would do business with Guyana, be it a country, investors, or international lending agencies.

It has taken years of hard work and difficult policy choices, but from a state of almost ruination, the Guyanese economy was able to bounce back and today is lauded as strong, buoyant and resilient by many well respected

economists and financial institutions, both regionally and internationally.
The economy was recently lauded by the Caribbean Development Bank’s President Dr William Warren Smith who noted that there were some very good lessons to be learnt, for the Caribbean states and the rest of the world, from the Guyanese experience.
Dr. Smith noted that though the country’s economic development has followed a very tough road, the economy has shown ‘resilience’, and alluded to the responsible management of its economy.
“Guyana is a good example of a country that has done some of the right things, and at the same time has also benefitted from good fortune. They have come a very, very long distance in terms of their fiscal situation. They have been responsible in terms of addressing it,” the CDB Head said.
In 2012, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) heaped similar praises on Guyana. The Executive Directors commended the policies which have supported the country’s macroeconomic resilience and sustained growth.
“Generally there is a lot of vibrancy in the Guyanese economy. Just by casual observation one can see that there is a lot of construction that is taking place in the country… you can almost see the country changing in front of your eyes, and so that is just a casual indication of the extent to which economic activity is vibrant and buoyant in that country,” Dr Smith said.
Government has had to work hard to get the Guyanese economy to this point where it is being singled out for praises, from a position where mismanagement and falling commodity prices, and high fuel cost would have created the situation of an economy once described as one of the poorest in the Region.
According to the CDB head, International financial institutions have provided substantial debt forgiveness, and Guyana has been able to capitalise on this, whilst continuing to pursue responsible fiscal reforms.
The emerging international market for commodities has also redounded to Guyana’s benefit as it has a lot to offer in this regard, the CDB president noted.
“They have been able to use the resources to help develop and grow their economy,” Dr Smith stated.
Today Guyana is rated a middle-income developing country, whose economic success is widely being applauded.