THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has provided an independent, balanced and objective assessment of the state of Guyana’s economy, Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh has said.

While making remarks during an episode of the Dr Randy Persaud Show which was aired on Sunday on the National Communications Network (NCN), he said that the IMF report reflects positively, the developments and management of the country’s economy.

According to Dr Singh, the report from the IMF appropriately identified some of the risks that exist as well as those that the government has identified.

“I would say that we consider it to be a good, solid, balanced and objective assessment of the state of the economy right now and we’re happy to get that balanced and objective [assessment] coming from an independent source and we’re happy to get that balanced and independent assessment,” he said.

Against this backdrop, Dr Singh noted that the concluding statement of this IMF mission drew attention to the appropriateness of the government’s fiscal and monetary policy stance.

To this end, he emphasised that on the surface it may just look like a casual statement being made, however, he noted that it is not.

With that, he highlighted that Guyana is operating in a particular global context and as such is affected by what happens around the world and is not immune to the global economic realities being faced.

So, for the policy stance to be recognised shows that Guyana is on the right track, despite the global circumstances being faced.

The IMF in the conclusion of its Article IV consultation with local authorities said that Guyana has experienced record real Gross Domestic Product growth with some 62.3 per cent increase in 2022.
The growth is expected to continue in 2023 with a projected 38 per cent increase in real GDP, as Guyana continues to build its image as a top destination for investment.

The report further noted that the country’s current expansionary fiscal policy stance is an appropriate one and further projected real GDP growth on an average of 20 per cent per year during the 2024 to 2028 period.