FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2024
Guyana Business Journal and Caribbean Policy Consortium Webinar Sheds Light on Maximizing the Social Impact of Guyana’s Oil and Gas Windfall.
At a crossroads in its history, Guyana stands poised for economic growth. While the world takes notice of its burgeoning economy, the nation grapples with rising living costs and the challenge of ensuring incomes keep pace.
Sustainable development advocate Florence Alexi Larose highlights this disparity, emphasizing the need for innovative solutions to propel Guyana forward equitably. This sentiment echoes with David Lewis, a voice for the private sector, who stresses the importance of translating energy wealth into tangible benefits for the Guyanese people.
Economist Roger Hosein injects a note of caution, urging policymakers to analyze the country’s production, employment, and trade structures. This deeper understanding, he argues, is crucial for harnessing competitive advantages and ensuring optimal use of the “energy revenue overflow.”
Terrence Blackman of the Guyana Business Journal emphasizes a long-term perspective. He calls for prudent resource management to avoid unsustainable spending that could leave the country vulnerable when the boom ends.
A common thread emerges from these diverse perspectives: achieving sustainable economic growth requires ensuring social equity. The voices of these thought leaders in sustainable development, economics, and business paint a nuanced picture of Guyana’s future. While challenges exist, the goal remains clear: a stronger, more inclusive Guyana for all its citizens.
For further information and to watch the webinar, please visit Guyana Business Journal or Caribbean Policy Consortium.
Contact:
Terrence Blackman, Ph.D., Founder & CEO Guyana Business Journal [email protected]
Dr. David E. Lewis, Fellow and Co-Chair, Caribbean Policy Consortium [email protected]
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For access to the entire webinar episode, please visit:
Program
Speakers:
- Florence Alexi Larose, Sustainable Development, Community Building, Rural Development and Indigenous Peoples
- Roger Hosein, Professor, UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
- David Lewis, Vice President, Manchester Trade Ltd. Inc. & Co-Chair, Caribbean Policy Consortium
- Terrence Blackman, Founder, Guyana Business Journal
Quotations:
Florence Alexi Larose, Sustainable Development, Community Building, Rural Development and Indigenous Peoples
- “On the world stage we’re seen as a rising economy, but within the country, for the people, it is a struggle, due to the rising cost of living and our inability to have our income suffice to match this emerging economy. And that is the reality of the situation.”
- “We cannot expect, someone to understand or see a vision the same that we are seeing it, if their reality is limited to a certain geographic space, while ours is much wider. Experience and exposure shape our thinking and projection.”
- “We are at a point where thinking outside of the box is necessary. We have to think outside of the box if we’re going to move Guyana forward as a whole. Or as equitably as we can go.”
Roger Hosein, Professor, UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
- “I think the Guyanese people, policy makers, need to walk a little more gently and little more softly. Yes, there is a lot of money circulating, but the real effective exchange rate. . . is showing distinct sighs of appreciating.”
- “I think the time has come where we need to go another step further. We need to look at the structure of production, the structure of employment. We need to look at the structure of trade. We need to see where the competitive advantage areas lie. We need to see how they are changing with time. We need to see where the important exports opportunities reside.”
- “Unless we take a deep dive, technical approach to understanding the 2024 facts mirrored against 2019, pre-boom, and plan for the next 16 years or there about. . . the overflow of energy revenues could give results that are not optimal.”
David Lewis, Vice President, Manchester Trade Ltd. Inc. & Co-Chair, Caribbean Policy Consortium
- “Private sector companies in Guyana, foreign investors in Guyana, countries that are joining in Guyana all over the place, presidents visiting, everybody looking to make Guyana the future of this hemisphere. . . they are all very concerned because they cannot control what you will be doing in Guyana, but they are going to be there so they are affected.”
- “In the end, all the energy wealth in the world means nothing if it’s not translated into improved welfare and development for the Guyanese people who own that wealth.”
Terrence Blackman, Founder, Guyana Business Journal
- “We want to foster a nation that is stronger and more inclusive, and prosperous for all.”
- “The strong point is, optimizing what we have currently so as not to overinvest and splurge and spend in a way that is unsustainable. In a way that leaves us not further ahead when this windfall opportunity has left again.”
