Dear Editor,
DEVELOPMENT economists have long warned of the danger of “growth without development.” The IMF and the World Bank have both observed in global reports that rising GDP or higher incomes can, without matching norms and institutions, produce new forms of disorder and discord in daily life. Guyana now confronts precisely this dilemma.

The achievements are considerable. Since 2020, the country has recorded among the fastest economic growth rates in the world. Disposable income has risen sharply, aided by tax reforms, increases in pensions and social assistance, and major investments in housing, health, and education. Infrastructural works, school cash-grant programmes, and expanded job opportunities demonstrate a genuine effort by this government to make prosperity inclusive.

Yet alongside these gains lie troubling contradictions. In residential areas, bars and loud- music venues have multiplied. Patrons frequently spill into the streets, speaking loudly, using vulgarities, parking wherever they please, and in many cases urinating along drains and parapets. Regulations that apply to the inside of establishments rarely extend to the disorder and nuisance outside.

Waste is another stark sign. Beer bottles, garbage-filled plastic bags, discarded washing machines, sofas, mattresses, and other household refuse are routinely dumped into canals, trenches, and on public lands. The coastlines and beaches, central to Guyana’s identity as a coastal society, are increasingly treated as dumping grounds and rendered unusable.
In short, rising consumption without adequate civic norms or enforcement has turned many shared spaces into sites of degradation and even danger.

On the roads, the expansion of vehicle ownership has brought speed, congestion, and recklessness to village streets, making them unsafe for pedestrians. In several areas, leaving one’s home has become an encounter with noise, waste, and the risk of being struck by a passing vehicle, unimpeded by speed bumps.
These are not minor inconveniences; they are the daily realities of thousands of Guyanese people. They reveal the contradiction of the present moment: while household incomes rise, the quality of public life is simultaneously declining in many important ways. Private prosperity, unrestrained by strong institutions, is undermining the collective experience and the good work this government has done in its first term.

This must therefore be treated as a matter of national urgency at the highest level. It is what makes the difference between ‘growth’ and ‘development.’ Enforcement requires properly trained, properly paid, and empowered officials who can act on the spot. Public civic education campaigns, clear regulations, and investment in institutional capacity are as vital to development as roads, schools, or hospitals. Without them, growth risks becoming hollow, with the economy doing well while the people do poorly.

The government should not let the remarkable progress of the past five years be undone by the actions of those who, in their pursuit of more wealth and enjoyment, destroy the very fabric of community life. The gains of higher incomes, better housing, and new infrastructure must be matched by protection of the public sphere, or else Guyana risks its own version of the resource curse: growth in numbers, decline in lived quality.

Guyana’s present moment echoes that paradox. Standards may be rising, but lived experiences for many are being degraded in many ways. Overcoming this contradiction is the true test of development.
Sincerely
Dr Walter H Persaud
WCD