Gov’t, private sector investment credited for 36.4% GDP mid-year growth

– Dr. Singh says outlook more positive than initial projection

Guyana’s 36.4 per cent GDP growth in the first half of 2022, and projected annual growth of 56 per cent are reflective of the PPP/C Government’s policy stance and private sector investment.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, speaking on a television programme on Monday noted that the economy has performed incredibly.

Dr Singh said this 36.4 per cent growth rate was achieved despite the shocks faced by Guyana and the world.  

“The fact that we have been able to withstand the shocks and grow at the rate that we have been growing is most commendable.

“As you know, we attach the strongest level of importance as a government, to the achievement of strong and sustainable economic growth but it’s also testimony to the efforts being made by the private sector to continue to invest and to expand, which they have been doing, in response to the policy environment that we have created,” the senior minister posited.

But, while the oil and gas sector has played a major role in the economic growth of the country, investments in the non-oil economy are also seeing results and adding significantly to this growth.

“As a government, we have placed a lot of policy emphasis on ensuring economic diversification and so the continued strength of the non-oil economy is, in fact, something that we are pleased to observe and it represents a vindication of the emphasis that we have placed on ensuring the economic diversification on a strong on oil economy,” Dr Singh said.

The Finance ministry’s Mid-Year report released on September 3 showed growth in several sectors including the agriculture, forestry, fishing, manufacturing, services, construction and extractive industries.

The outlook now, Dr Singh said, is more positive than initially predicted at the time of the National Budget.

He noted that the Mid-Year report is important for transparency purposes and allows the government to assess the economy.

“It’s also a very important instrument and tool through which we are able to communicate with the world at large, international investors, domestic investors, domestic private sector and indeed all other actors and stakeholders in society on economic development, so it’s also a very important tool or instrument, in the whole architecture of transparentgovernment, reporting periodically on economic performance, updating economic projections and financial projections and so on,” the minister added.