Two Years: August 2020 & August 2022
By Ron Cheong
WHAT a difference between August 2020 and August 2022. It’s like night and day. In 2020 democracy was gravely threatened, the country was near bankrupt, the COVID-19 response was a mess and the country’s reputation was in tatters. Plus, it seemed that we didn’t know to count.

But throughout the challenge, diplomatic missions, CARICOM, the Commonwealth, International Observers, Guyanese at large and others held firm and resolute in the face of the blatant attempt to intimidate, subvert our democracy, and illegally cling to power. It took no small effort, to ‘facedown’ the obstinate and insidious threat. But the champions of democracy prevailed. The closely scrutinised election results were finally verified, the winner was declared and a new energetic cabinet with a balance of experience and youth was sworn in.

The new government hit the ground running. It set a blistering pace to heal the nation and bring about change. It prepared a national budget, which normally takes over 150 days, in just 21 days. The COVID – 19 response took off immediately and efforts to stabilize the country began.

Two years later, Guyana continues to make rapid social and economic progress with the underlying driver of all policies and programmes being the philosophy of One Guyana – a social contract of inclusion that seeks the equitable distribution of assets, goods and services to the people, including equal access to education, employment, health services and justice.

Since taking office, the government has distributed over 12,000 house lots across the country on the way to its goal of distributing 50,000 lots in its first five years. The just completed International Building Expo 2022 had to be extended by two days because of high demand. Thousands of people visited the expo, which brought together aspiring homeowners, builders, lenders, suppliers and government entities.

The country is firing on all cylinders; the economy is projected to almost double this year with GDP reaching $9.5 billion.

What a difference.

Stronger Bonds Closer Cooperation
And in the final week before the two-year mark of his Inauguration, President Ali headed a high level delegation to Washington, meeting with top members of the Biden administration, senators, congressional members and other officials in a packed agenda including speaking engagements and meetings with distinguished policy groups. Present at many of those sessions was Sarah-Ann Lynch the US Ambassador to Guyana since 2019.

It is ironic that the attempt to overturn democracy in Guyana actually resulted in stronger bonds being forged with our CARICOM neighbours, the ABC and EU countries and others. In the country’s hour of need the diplomatic missions and international community stood firmly and unflinching by our side. They surely deserve our gratitude and thanks. Now just two short years later, Guyana is so transformed we can reciprocate with our friendship, cooperation and help. While we would not want to forget old friends, there is surely room to enhance and deepen other relations to mutual benefit. Guyana has much to offer, but can also benefit from assistance from more highly advanced partners to get our development train fully back on track.

One sign that things are headed in that direction is the inking of a US$2 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Guyana and the US Export Import (EXIM) Bank while the delegation was in Washington. Sectors eligible for financing using US knowhow include roads and bridges, energy, telecommunications, water treatment and sanitation and agriculture.

Among the top US Administration officials that President Ali and the delegation had meetings with over the week were Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Commenting on teleconference with the US Vice President, President Ali was very frank and open, very respectful and he was able to outline his vision and continue the dialogue they had started earlier at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.

And in his feedback, the US Secretary of State said that Guyana has been a very strong partner for the United States, and is in many ways a global leader. He added that the two countries would continue to advance discussions and collaboration in areas of cooperation. Blinken further emphasised that the US is very eager to continue to deepen and strengthen the partnership.

President Ali and his delegation also had a series of meetings with US policy makers at Capitol Hill. They met and had discussions with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Senators Tim Kaine, Marco Rubio and Cory Booker among other influential lawmakers. Senator Booker commended President Ali on his leadership and developmental plans for Guyana, and he made a commitment to advance issues of mutual interest on the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on which he sits.

By all measures the entire visit by the delegation went extremely well and was very productive. Congresswoman Jackson Lee presented the President with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition and called his election victory a triumph of democracy. Guyana also comes away with much needed financing for its development programme and the indication that the US is eager to continue strengthening ties with Guyana and CARICOM.

Guyana Not Empty Handed
But Guyana did not go to the table empty handed. The Russia Ukraine war has shown the vulnerabilities of the global supply chain and the devastating impact it can have on countries far removed from the disruption. Guyana has large potential capacity to narrow vulnerability gaps or meet needs in a number of important areas.

Two key concerns of the US are regional energy security and regional food security, and both of those intersect directly with two of Guyana own priorities and areas of focus. Also, Guyana has long been a world leader with its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), and this aligns well with the Biden Administration’s commitment to climate control.

On the energy front, President Ali touched on the country’s barely tapped 11 billion and counting barrel reserves of high quality oil in remarks at a stop-off at the Centre for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS). In addition, he noted that the country’s natural gas also provides an opportunity for Guyana and Suriname to combine to be the energy capital of the Guyana shield, developing an energy corridor of natural gas along with northern Brazil.

Guyana is also important to regional food security, co-chairing the U.S. – Caribbean joint committee on food security. The country is also playing a leading role in CARICOM’s plan to reduce its high food import bill by 25% by 2025 with the 25 by 25 initiative. With its abundant fresh water and large-scale arable land, Guyana is the focal point of the initiative and well positioned to be the food-basket of CARICOM.

Furthermore, the President noted that 87% of Guyana, an area about the size of England, is covered by forests that store 19.5 gigatons of carbon representing a value of over US$500 billion. These forests have a value to the world, and the world should understand the monetary value that is foregone to maintain this value in its form.

Guyana is a Net Zero country, the global goal set for carbon emissions by 2050. At a 0.05% deforestation rate, Guyana is among the lowest in the world. And Guyana is now moving towards a LCDS 2030 strategy which will expand beyond the forests to include the territorial oceanic waters.

Then there is transport and logistics, a shorter land route north from Brazil to the Atlantic would greatly reduce the sea voyage and facilitate trade with Brazil which has a population of over 200 million. The President said the easiest fix for this is developing a free zone deep-water port in Guyana, which would allow Guyana to become to the region in essence what Panama is in terms of transport and logistics.

These are some of the reasons that Guyana is commanding the attention of the US, causing them to refocus their attention and allocate more policy space to Guyana and more widely CARICOM, in which we are assuming a larger and growing leadership role.

The country and people of Guyana lost valuable time, but we’re now on the road again. The government has achieved a tremendous amount in record time. The US renewed interest in Guyana not only brings real cash but also large-scale institutional knowledge and advance technology that Guyana can benefit from in its development plans. Stronger US ties and attention also add to the country’s security outlook.
The country has come quite a ways in two years.