From the New York Times
In a not altogether positive review, the New York Times published yesterday a 1600-word article on Guyana entitled A Small Country’s Huge Windfall From the War in Iran by Simon Romero and Rebecca F. Elliot.
Headlined, Luxury Cars and Opulent Weddings Show Guyana’s Windfall From War in Iran, it initially talks about a Guyana that is not familiar to those of us who live here. “Ferraris and Lamborghinis creep through traffic-choked streets. New steakhouses serve imported cuts of Wagyu beef. Music festivals fly D.J.s in from Miami and Jamaica. Opulent weddings are the talk of the town.” It claimed that such luxury trappings are popping up in Georgetown, a city far removed from the war in the Middle East, which has severely restricted energy flows. The reason? It is reaping a windfall from the turmoil. It asserted that Guyana is positioned to take in an estimated US$6.5 billion in oil revenue this year, more than double what was forecast at the start of that the year.
Quoting Richard Rambarran, it says: “Guyana is suddenly punching well above its weight, but this is only the beginning.” Oil output now stands at about 900,000 barrels a day. Guyana’s production capacity is projected to surge to 1.7 million barrels a day by 2030.”
It reports that “economic growth reached a staggering 33 percent in the first half of the year, according to government data, making Guyana the world’s fastest-growing economy. But the boom also carries the risk of inciting or magnifying tensions and grievances across the former British colony. Far from creating a shared prosperity, many in Guyana complain that a small elite is amassing fortunes while ordinary people face rising inflation, rampant corruption, a housing shortage and substandard public services….Government officials and economists argue that oil revenues are fundamentally improving living standards in what was one of Latin America’s poorest countries, citing tax cuts, new infrastructure like bridges and highways, the elimination of college tuition and one-off cash payments of about $500 to citizens.”
The article asked “After a state-run ferry capsized in July, killing about 100 people in Guyana’s deadliest event since the 1978 Jonestown mass murder and suicide, some people at vigils and protests asked how this could happen in the world’s fastest-growing economy. The disaster’s casualties, demonstrators emphasized, were among those still struggling to eke out a living even as Guyana’s government is increasingly flush with oil money.”
Romola Lucas, a lawyer arrested with other protesters after demanding that government officials be held accountable for the tragedy was quoted as saying: “We’re sick of hearing about a boom that means nothing to most Guyanese.” As Lucas emphasized, there can be a jarring disconnect between Guyana’s stunning economic growth and conditions on the ground.
The article notes that “at street level in the capital, Guyana does not feel like it is suddenly turning into an advanced economy. “Traditional wooden architecture stands alongside newer buildings in Georgetown. Raw sewage flows through Georgetown’s canals. Families cram into squalid housing vulnerable to flooding or fires. Pedestrians take their lives into their hands just to cross anarchic intersections. Robberies at gunpoint are a common hazard.
Georgetown’s rapidly changing cityscape is another point of friction as developers raze the city’s famed, often-decaying Victorian wooden architectural designed for its tropical climate, replacing it with high-rises made of concrete and steel.
“`The sheer ugliness of it all is what gets to me,’” said Thomas Singh, a professor of economics at the University of Georgetown”.
The article notes that “as resentment festers over the uneven gains from the boom, concerns are growing over Guyana’s ability to avoid the all-too-common phenomenon where rapid oil wealth enriches insiders, stokes corruption, unleashes inflation and degrades non-oil sectors of the economy….
Guyana’s government did not respond to requests for comment. But in public remarks in recent days, President Irfaan Ali said the economic boom would benefit “every household” in Guyana; he also said authorities were adopting measures to shield citizens from rising inflation.
“In the meantime, Guyana’s fractious political system is showing signs of strain.”
“President Ali, who rose to power in 2020 after one of the most protracted electoral standoffs in modern South American history, has been assailed over whether corruption was involved in his acquisition of a ranch near Georgetown. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. But by homing in on Mr. Ali’s ranch, Azruddin Mohamed, the opposition leader, seized on public grievances over how some in power, or those aligned with them, are reaping fortunes.
“Mr. Mohamed operates under his own cloud of corruption allegations. The Biden administration placed him under sanctions in 2024 in connection to gold smuggling and bribery schemes.
“For Guyana, another challenge involves demographics as thousands of migrants, largely from Cuba but also from Venezuela, stream into the country in search of work. Guyana’s government has mostly welcomed this influx as a way to ease labor shortages. The Guyana-Venezuela Border Controversy receives substantial attention.
“`This place holds opportunity,’” said Mirelis Ramos, 39, a Venezuelan migrant who recently arrived in Guyana. She says she even feels at home some days in Bourda Market, a teeming area of open-air stalls where Venezuelan Spanish is heard at every turn. “`I see no reason to go back.’”
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