‘We are on our way to building a dynamic economy’ – President Ali

Guyana’s economy experienced remarkable growth from 2020 to 2024, with significant expansion in both oil and non-oil sectors.

This achievement is attributed to the government’s strategic investments and policies that focused on fostering an environment of economic sustainability and diversification.

On Saturday evening, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali underscored the importance of evaluating the nation’s economic performance and provided a detailed analysis of growth across traditional sectors.

President Ali said that Guyana’s non-oil economy’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 41 per cent over the past four years.

“This is to show that we are on our way to building a dynamic economy, one that will be globally competitive and one that is not stuck or overwhelmingly based on oil revenue,” the president asserted during his live broadcast.

According to the head of state, sectors such agriculture, construction and mining have contributed significantly to economic expansion.

The agriculture sector expanded by 17 per cent owing to better farming techniques, research and infrastructure investments in drainage and irrigation systems.

The president pointed out that the service sector increased by 28 per cent, construction by 138 per cent, and mining by a massive 153 per cent.

“You see new hotels going up, ICT services, and telecom services. This is expansion in the services sector and massive expansion in the construction sector. People are building more homes and more people are employed. We have far exceeded the 50,000 jobs that we would have committed to in the manifesto,” President Ali highlighted.

The president further stated that increased imports of capital, consumer and intermediate goods are key to sustaining Guyana’s economic growth.

Between 2019-2024, imports increased by 163 per cent. This increase was linked to the demand for machinery, construction materials and transportation equipment that was necessary to complement  a construction boom. This surge has increased the demand for foreign exchange.

The president pointed out that the projected growth of the Bank of Guyana’s reserves went from US$575 million to over $1.17 billion at the end of 2024.  This growth  is directly linked to the revenues from the oil and gas sector, remittances and foreign investments.

These are among the many expansions taking place across multiple sectors, and according to President Ali, they form the foundation for a robust and sustainable economy.