THE APNU+AFC government’s implementation of the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) is not just one of the best frameworks within which national development may be pursued; instead, it is in fact, the only developmental path that ensures that future generations of Guyanese have a viable country to inherit.

The GSDS is the concrete manifestation of the overarching innovative vision under which specific policy initiatives will be undertaken, that is, all developmental enterprises will be consistent with the GSDS framework. In turn, The GSDS–a strategy tailored to local needs–will itself be aligned with the internationally adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The GSDS, according to its guiding document, “Will guide Guyana’s economic and sociocultural development over the next 15 years [into 2030]. It will lay His Excellency President David A. Granger and the new coalition government’s principle [sic] foundations for inclusive green economic and social growth, provide a roadmap for achieving sustainable development goals and related targets, and outline a long-term vision for a prosperous and equitable future. The objective of the strategy is to reorient and diversify Guyana’s economy, reducing reliance on traditional sectors and opening up new sustainable income and investment opportunities in higher value-adding and higher growth sectors.”
The guiding document states:
Seven ‘central themes’ are identified with considerable potential to contribute to the transition to a “Green” State:
1. “Green” and Inclusive Structural Transformation: Diversifying the economic base, accessing new markets and creating decent jobs for all
2. Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Expansion of Environmental Services: stewardship of natural patrimony
3. Energy – Transition to Renewable Energy and Greater Energy Independence
4. Resilient Infrastructure and Spatial Development
5. Human Development and Well-being
6. Governance and Institutional Pillars
7. International Cooperation, Trade and Investment
The necessity for this developmental route is obvious, since: climate change will have a huge impact on Guyana, particularly as the majority of Guyanese live on the coast; therefore, we must prepare for its effects and make efforts to mitigate them; we must embark on a course of sustainability to safeguard Guyana’s future; we must aim for self-sufficiency to reduce any negative effects of external and internal instabilities, whether foreseeable or not; we must strengthen democratic institutions; and, we must prepare to participate, and lead, in global development. President Granger underscored that point; he said, “Guyana, on the basis of our geographic location and resources, has an obligation which we acknowledge and a commitment that we have made to be meaningfully involved, if not, to take the lead role in this development.”

President David Granger elaborated, he said that, “The Government of Guyana envisions that the Green State Development Strategy will be based on sustainable use of biodiversity and a decarbonised approach that endeavours to provide an inclusive and better quality of life for all Guyanese within the ecological limits of our country’s natural resources, and with the relevant, physical and human capital.”

President Granger’s visionary path to Guyana’s developmental goals has been widely recognised and commended. In May 2018, the World Bank’s Country Director for Caribbean Countries and Latin America, Ms. Tahseen Sayed, said there was much that herself and colleagues at the World Bank can learn from what Guyana is aspiring to achieve. Upon extending an invitation to President David Granger to make a presentation on Guyana’s GSDS at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. Ms. Sayed remarked, “A presentation on the aspirations of Guyana would be beneficial for both parties.”

Smart Guyanese will recognise that our country is unique: our people are ethnically, culturally, religiously, linguistically, and politically diverse; Guyana’s geography is widely varied; and, our assorted natural resources are asymmetrically distributed; therefore, a detailed and locally relevant developmental framework is required. At the same time, such a strategy must consider global realities, and be consistent with internationally accepted best-practices. Fortunately, Guyana now has a government that also recognises the fact of our country’s distinctive nature, and a president who is intellectually capable of conceptualising and establishing that strategic framework. Since all Guyanese will benefit from the GSDS, all citizens, being stakeholders, should work with government towards its fruition.

It is most unfortunate, though, that the leader of the opposition apparently does not share the majority-view; in July 2018, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo said, “In all likelihood we will scrap [the GSDS] as soon as we get into office, because it makes no sense.” Mr. Jagdeo’s statement – likely politically motivated – is saddening, since all smart Guyanese would admit that the well-being of all citizens, and the prospects of national development are far more important than anyone’s personal, political ambitions.