ONE essential responsibility of every government is to ensure the nation’s economy continues ticking, come what may, and to this end, this Government of Guyana continues passing that test with flying colours.
Example: Take the way this newspaper, like never before, is able to report, every single day, about positive and progressive steps being taken by this People’s Progressive Party PPP/Civic (PPP/C) administration to bring better to the populace by making things much better for all Guyanese, and together.

Take, too, the latest projections of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which, in its 2023 Article IV Consultation Report (published on Monday), commended Guyana for its economic management, including its implementation of policies and initiatives that keep transforming the economy.

As reported by the Guyana Chronicle, the findings were published after an official IMF mission visited Guyana in September, and highlighted that the nation’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to continue to grow rapidly.
The IMF Mission pointed out that at 62.3 per cent, Guyana achieved the highest real GDP growth in the world in 2022.
Further, the Guyana economy has tripled in size since the start of oil extraction (end of 2019), from one of the lowest GDPs per capita in Latin America and the Caribbean in the early 1990s.

It is estimated that Guyana’s economy will record a 38.4 per cent real GDP growth rate this year, while the country’s growth will continue with an expansion of an expected 26.6 per cent in 2024.
Oil production is growing, with a third oil field – Payara – coming online. And growth in the non-oil sector is supported by the implementation of a fast-paced public investment programme focused on providing transportation, housing and flood management infrastructure, and raising human capital.

Moreover, spinoffs from oil and construction are supporting growth in the services and supplies sectors.
Meanwhile, in relation to inflationary pressures, the IMF noted that the government introduced a suite of measures in 2022 and 2023, which have contributed to a decline in the inflation rate in 2023.
The external current account recorded a large surplus in 2022, of 23.8 per cent of GDP, and another large surplus is expected in 2023.

The IMF reported, too, that banks in Guyana are well-capitalised, and continue to improve their loan portfolios.
Guyana is also poised for continued rapid expansion, with on average growth of 20 per cent per year during 2024-28.
The IMF projects that non-oil GDP growth will be sustained at 5.5 per cent, as the government continues its plans to address the country’s developmental needs.

As is becoming increasingly clear, Venezuela’s latest revival of its continuing claim to Guyana’s Essequibo in 2023 is rooted in discoveries of oil and gas in volumes that naturally water the mouths of those who feel the Bolivarian State, already with more crude oil reserves than Saudi Arabia, also needs to have what’s flowing out of a Guyana region it’s never controlled, but now wishes to forcibly annex.

National attention is on peaceful defence diplomacy, and ensuring Guyana maintains all of its 83,000 square miles, all three counties and all ten administrative regions, yielding “Not a Blade of Grass” to those dreaming of making Guyana’s Essequibo a Venezuelan state.

Guyana continues to post positive economic and developmental results at all levels, in keeping with the government’s implementation of deliberate policies aimed at ensuring Guyanese continue to benefit from the latest projections that the national economy will triple in size in the brief period from 2019 to 2023.
The IMF report also reiterates, once again, without a doubt, that Guyana’s present and long-term future continue to be in very good hands.