Guyana ranked fifth fastest-growing economy, even without oil  – Guyana Chronicle

WHEN assessed on its non-oil performance, Guyana is ranked fifth in the world as the fastest growing economy in 2022, while with oil, projections place Guyana as the fastest growing economy.

This is according to President Dr. Irfaan Ali, who, during a live broadcast on his Facebook page on Saturday, examined the evolution of Guyana’s development.
In 2022, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Report projected Guyana to grow at 57.8 per cent for 2022, with the second fastest-growing economy being Fiji, which is projected to grow at 12.5 per cent.

However, based on the country’s half-year projection for 2022, Guyana’s non-oil economic growth is placed at 9.5 per cent. For 2022, according to the world economic report, after Fiji, Kuwait had an 8.7 per cent projection, as did the Maldives, while Saint Kitts and Nevis’ projected growth is 9.8 per cent.

“That tells a lot, because it now shows the result of the redirection of government policies from subjecting the population to more than 200-plus taxes to investing in the productive sector,” President Ali boasted.

“Amidst all of these global challenges, what we saw was that Guyana’s economic performance in 2022 was not only remarkable, but is one that is worth a study,” he added.
The growth profile of 2022 showed agriculture projected to grow by 17.9 per cent; quarrying and mining at 11 per cent; the construction sector by 19 per cent; wholesale and retail trade by 12.5 per cent; transportation and storage by 13 per cent; and accommodation and food services by 18 per cent.

“These are a direct result of the confidence in the economy, as more medium and small enterprises invest in the diversified portfolio. And this is also important when we look at what people call the Dutch Disease. The diversification of our economic portfolio is holding strong,” the President said.
According to President Ali, the government’s targetted expansion of the other economic sectors, and diversifying of the economic pillar is showing direct results due to the policy formulation and measures that have been implemented.

“If you look at what is happening in different sectors, we see that there is renewed energy. There is renewed optimism; renewed investment in the manufacturing and constructive sector, extractive sector, productive sector, agriculture, agriculture processing,” the Head of State said.

He added, “The last two years was really spent on rebuilding the architecture and framework that supports the upliftment and development of these sectors. In the coming years, we’ll see, in a greater sense, the impact of the investments we are making in different sectors.”

According to the President, “Though 2022 saw severe economic shocks, Guyana’s economic performance was still remarkable, with the shock of the global crisis not fully impacting the lives of the people in Guyana, thanks to initiatives, policies and measures that the government implemented that brought stability to our internal system.”

Notwithstanding all of the international pressure, President Ali said the government was able to reduce the impact of inflation, the cost of living and food crises and keep prices relatively stable.
Though many countries experienced double and triple-digit inflation this year, Guyana kept inflation in single digits, with its projected seven per cent being below the global inflation rate.

“From a macroeconomic perspective, notwithstanding the complex international environment we’re operating in, we have seen the true results of the policies and measures adopted by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government,” President Ali said.

Over the course of the year, the government implemented a number of measures to ease the burden on the population. Among infrastructural measures were the government’s construction of 183 bridges in 2022, and the construction and maintenance of a total of 1,651km of roads to improve commute nationwide, including in hinterland communities.

In housing, more than 10,500 house lots were allocated in 2022. The government also had major developments in education, health, and social welfare.

According to President Ali, the past year was one that required policy formulation and measures that mitigated the full effect of global issues such as the high inflation rate, the high cost of living, increasing cost of food practices, shortages of food products on international markets, supply chain crisis, and increase in shipping cost, all of which impacted Guyana severely.

The management of the inflation and inflationary pressure and cost of living was due to very careful planning and a very robust system in terms of our expenditure profile and spending in the right areas, the Head of State said.