Guyana continues to rise to economic challenges – Finance Minister
DPI, GUYANA, Thursday, April 5, 2018
Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan said that Guyana has been steadfast in its resolve to ensure growth in its economy, fostering conditions and creating opportunities for renewal and expansion of the economy for all citizens.
The minister was addressing the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank in Tunisia on Wednesday.
Minister of Finance Winston Jordan at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank in Tunisia.
The IsDB Group Board of Governors holds an annual meeting to discuss development issues and institutional matters. The meeting attracts over 1,000 participants and offers an ideal platform for decision-makers to discuss challenges and explore opportunities facing IsDB Group member countries.
Minister Jordan said since its assumption to office, the government has seen an economic growth averaging about 3 percent, between 2015- 2017. This growth, he said, was achieved at a time when many of the neighbouring countries were facing low or negative growth rates and reduced standards of living.
“It is what we promised to the people of Guyana and to our partners who expressed hope in our leadership; and it is what my Government has been pursuing, relentlessly, as its mandate,” he told the finance leaders.
According to Minister Jordan, Guyana is strategically and geographically located within Latin America and the Caribbean, where recovery is expected to strengthen, with growth projections for 2018 and 2019 being revised upwards to 1.9 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively. Also projected is an 11.0 percent rise in Latin American exports coupled with price hikes of commodities like oil and minerals.
He said the Guyana government continues to concentrate on a number of key strategic approaches for the economic well-being of the country including the strengthening of national planning; building a robust oil and gas industry; consolidating the macroeconomic fundamentals; fostering economic diversification; strengthening private sector capacity and its involvement in national development and the diversification of the agricultural sector. It will also be investing in human and social development; development of climate resilient infrastructure; and pursuing equitable growth in a green development agenda.
“Guyana has embarked on the formulation of a Green State Development Strategy that will stand as a living example of our country’s commitment to this planet we call Earth. Our Green State Development Strategy will ensure sustainable growth with equity that redounds to the economic well-being of every citizen. It could become, quite possibly, a model for other like-minded economies.”
The Strategy, he reported, is being fashioned through a collaborative and consultative process, and will be costed to inform future financing streams for the country.
“It will allow our people an opportunity to shape the scope and scale of our development priorities, given our existing and future resource flows. My Government will continue to assess the economic tides and employ timely policy measures to correct imbalances and mitigate negative effects that could stymie growth.”
In that regard, he said the government aims to strengthen its analytical capability to determine the macroeconomic effects of various policies and interventions employed to grow the economy.
By: Alexis Rodney