MINISTEr of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, upon reflecting on the 21 years of the PPP returning democracy to Guyana, said the country’s economy today is more robust than any other time in its history.He said under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government growth took place in all sectors despite the dilapidated state inherited from its predecessor and the global economic slowdowns of 1997 and 2008.

“The PPP has engaged in true and dramatic rebuilding from bold economic, constitutional and legislative reforms to infrastructural and social development,” said the Minister in a press release.
“The constitutional and legislative reformations undertaken by the PPP administration are remarkable accomplishments that are indicative of the party’s efforts to be transparent, accountable, inclusive and responsible,” he said.
The Finance Minister pointed to the multiple economic reforms that were undertaken by the PPP siting among them: the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, the Procurement Act of 2003 and the Anti-Money Laundering & Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act of 2009.
“Other key legislative amendments have greatly improved the lives of small business owners through the Small Business Act, the Amerindian people through the Amerindian Act of 2006,” stated the release.
Minister Singh also pointed to the many constitutional changes that moved beyond finance, but to the protection of Guyana’s children through the Protection of Children Act of 2009 and the Sexual Offence Act of 2010, which he says would benefit “all Guyanese, regardless of education, economic standing or gender.”
The Finance Minister also announced that Guyana is celebrating its seventh consecutive year of uninterrupted real growth.
“The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter of the year has already grown 3.9 %, which transcends to more spending power for the average Guyanese,” he said.
It was further announced that the major pillars of economic activity for Guyana which includes rice, bauxite, sugar and gold, have all shown remarkable growth over the 21 years of PPP rule.
The release noted that rice production in 2012 was at its highest since 1991 while Bauxite Production almost doubled during the same period.
“The sugar industry was also prosperous with 218,054 tonnes in 2012 compared to 162,484 tonnes produced in 1999,” noted the Minister in the press release. “Gold declarations vastly increased from 1991 where only 59,252 ounces compared to 438,645 ounces in 2012 were declared; it was the highest level of declarations by small and medium scale operators.”
Other signs of economic progress under the PPP Administration is also noted but the raise in the minimum wage.
“When the PPP took office the average minimum wage was US$23, today it is approximately eight times that level at US$184,” explained Minister Singh.
The release also explained that inflation, “which is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services raises, and, subsequently, purchasing power falls, has also shown economic stability across all sectors.”
It was noted that inflation was contained to single digits over the last 15 years of PPP leadership with the exception of 2007 which saw a sudden rise in fuel and food prices, compared to a 90 % inflation rate in 1991.
“Even with the above noted changes, the reach of the PPP government further extends into massive infrastructural achievements that have opened the gateway to investment and broader commercial activities,” said the Minister.
Infrastructural projects which include Guyana’s first National Stadium located at Providence built to a tune of US$25 M was noted for the opportunities it created by attracting international games such as the recently concluded CPL Tournament and other international artists who might not have been able to perform in Guyana had it not been for the international quality of the stadium.
The minister also pointed to other infrastructural projects such as the Berbice River Bridge and the Takatu Bridge between Guyana and Brazil that opened in 2008 to facilitate the bilateral trade.
“Looking back over the past 21 years of the PPP Government, the physical infrastructure of the nation’s schools, healthcare and community services has given this nation much to celebrate, where each and every Guyanese can live, work and believe that anything is attainable,” concluded the Minister.