Dear Editor,

THE COVID-19 pandemic has hit Guyana’s largely consumption-driven economy very hard. Real GDP would have contracted from March thru August 2020. In fact, the economy was contracting even before that, because money was not circulating, and too many workers had lost their jobs. The attempted election rigging also affected the economy. Since then, with rising cases, there is growing concern about the COVID pandemic and its effects on the country. While COVID-19 has thrown the economy into flux, early indications from the stimulus packages of last November and late last month suggest that the economy will turn bounce very well.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has tested Guyana’s socio-economic and health resilience from March 2020, the response measures were different from the different governments. The nation was disappointed with the Coalition’s response to the COVID. It was very poor under the Coalition regime thru the end of July. The new PPP government, from August 2 has taken effective counter-measures. President Ali’s government has gotten “thumbs up” for its COVID response. The stimulus package received unanimous approval even from critics of the government and political opponents; the President’s and government’s approval ratings have been soaring as a result of the COVID assistance. The previous government could have offered a financial package to the suffering nation but failed to conceive one.

The PPP administration immediately went about addressing the challenges of COVID. Even prior to the swearing in of the government, the PPP had been distributing relief packages around the country: food hampers, masks, protective shields, PPE, etc. to help the population, even in PNC strongholds, to cope with the problems. The sitting government had done little to address the COVID crisis, focusing instead on retaining political power through electoral fraud.
Once settled in, the PPP government began aggressively testing the population who showed symptoms of COVID and pursuing contact tracing. Prior to August, there were few tests, and the results were not made public. The number of COVID infections was underreported.  Protective measures were not undertaken. The population was at risk because it was not known who were infected. Thus, many people were needlessly infected and too many lives were lost.
The number of COVID infections is relatively high. The number of cases has increased since August. That is because there has been increased testing and reporting. The number of cases may also have been high (er) prior to August; it is just that the numbers were not accurately known by a secretive government. Now, one has a better assessment of COVID infections and how to address the problem. And since November, the government has given households a stimulus of $25K. State workers also received an additional $25K stimulus package. The population is extremely grateful for the two stimulus packages. The Finance Minister was able to find the money to assist the population, receiving kudos all around from colleagues as well as the population at large.

The government must continue to provide emergency support for vulnerable groups and individuals affected by COVID. It must expand medical resources to fight COVID-19 and ensure the safety of health workers and other first responders, as well as educators. In addition, government should implement fiscal and monetary initiatives to keep the economy afloat. And it should launch an economic recovery plan to create jobs and sustain growth. Work projects, like meaningful infrastructure rehabilitation should be given consideration like what happened in the US during the depression and after the major wars.
What are needed in Guyana are tax breaks and other incentives to the business community, particularly to vulnerable industries and direct farmers so that they can get back on their feet. Taxes must be reduced across-the-board and bring more people into the tax network. The government should give direct subsidies to the farmers (and even seedlings, plants, manure, etc.) and other productive industries. The government should also give training to various sectors like taylors and seamstresses so they can produce for the oil industry, the security forces, and other businesses. These new businesses can become part of the supply chain. Farm land should be given a lot of subsidies. Government should provide direct transfer to farmers. Government can reduce if not eliminate taxes and fees for and use. Subsidies should be given for productive services. People can be hired to clean drains, etc, or to pave secondary roads as a work project. The government should roll out imminent corporate recovery and tax incentives for enterprises that would create jobs, encourage investment and generate growth in 2021 and beyond. A larger budget for 2021, even it means going into large deficit spending, will help to jump-start economic recovery. The government should not depend only on gas and oil but look into key infrastructure projects, the transformation of the agriculture industry into a dynamic agri-business sector. Off curse, local energy investors should be given duty free concessions just like those given to the foreign MNCS. Incentives should also be given to mining and fisheries for exported oriented industries. Government should look into encouraging foreigners to invest in Guyana and for individuals with technical expertise from Asia and Africa to settle in the country. Such measures will help to create opportunities for the local population.

Yours truly,
Dr. Vishnu Bisram