– Guyana gets good rating from ECLAC

THE United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has reported that Guyana has the lowest level of public debt in the Caribbean.
According to ECLAC’s economic survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2018, Guyana’s public debt is 46.9 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In the Caribbean, central government public debt remained stable at 68.6 per cent of GDP. Despite having the highest level of liabilities in the region, Jamaica continues to reduce its public debt. The country had a debt of 103.0 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, followed by Barbados with 89.3 per cent.

Even as Guyana has made progress in the management of its debt, government will continue to work hard to ensure that debt levels remain sustainable, said Minister of Finance Winston Jordan last year.

Jordan had noted that under the Public Debt Management Capacity Building Programme (PDP) Strategic Country Plan for Guyana, the country has made notable progress in the area of debt management.

He said the programme concludes this year.

The finance minister singled out several areas which have progressed here and these include the formulation of a National Sustainable Funding Strategy in 2015, inclusive of a Debt Sustainability Analysis and Public Debt Strategy, a comprehensive Public Debt Management Procedures Manual which has improved and ensured consistent debt management operations while reducing operational risk; and the first National Workshop on Debt Management Self-Evaluation and Improvement (DMSAI) in 2016, using the World Bank Debt Management Performance Assessment (DeMPA) methodology to assess Guyana’s debt management operations, and chart a course for improvement and achievement of international best practices.

“These achievements are tangible indications of our Government’s redoubled efforts to ‘raise the bar’ in the management of public finances,” he said, adding that such efforts include the management of the public debt.

He said such efforts ensure heightened transparency and accountability, value for money and efficient and effective allocation of the country’s resources.
According to Jordan, Guyana is well acquainted with the harsh consequences of an onerous debt burden as well as the painful process of structural adjustment, and the harsh outcomes of weak and impudent management of the public purse by previous administrations.

Despite the challenges over the years, the mid-year report of 2018 had positive statistics. Among the statistics was a 4.5 per cent growth of the economy at mid-year.
ECLAC has projected that the economy will further grow by 3.0 per cent this year. The mid-year report, however, projected a 3.7 per cent growth for this year.
According to the mid-year report, non-sugar growth rate is estimated to have climbed to 5.1 per cent from a revised 2.8 per cent, while preliminary data indicates that this growth, for the first half of 2018, was more broad-based than the previous year with robust performances in agriculture, fishing and forestry.

The significant increase in the construction sector was evidenced by higher building imports by 24.7 per cent, supported by the increased pace of execution of the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) which rose by 3.9 per cent above the previous half year.
Minister Jordan highlighted in the report that Government has made gains on putting its macroeconomic and development agenda on a strong foundation. He said the initiatives taken during the first half – and which will be accelerated during the second half of 2018 – brought greater clarity to the Government priorities, with emphasis on spending on growth-enhancing opportunities such as construction.