Sound macroeconomics after authoritarianism

Jun 08, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,

People must know that Guyana was ruled undemocratically for 28 years under the PNC authoritarian regime.

However today, the PPP Government managed to return the fundamental principles of democracy at all levels.

We now see the restoration of good practices of Human Rights and also saw the first free and fair election in 1992 since 1964.

To ensure the promotion of good governance, Government made constitutional parliamentary reforms under inclusivity and participation from Parliamentary political parties, civil society, non-governmental organisation and communities.

The 1980 constitution was reviewed by a Parliamentary Special Select Committee which visited hundreds of communities for their response. However, the 1997 elections introduced an era of post-election violence. Despite this, post-election violence simmered after 2001, and the environment returned to normalcy.

These reforms managed to disintegrate the imperialistic nature of the 1980 Constitution and now enable inclusiveness of the opposition in decision making.

In addition, today we witness improvement in our social services sectors, primarily housing, health and education.

These improvements were possible as a result of the gargantuan debt relief achieved by the PPP/C Administration.

Funds that were once used for debt repayment are now used to facilitate and enhance a number of initiatives under the social services sectors.

Guyana, a young and vibrant developing nation, has come a long way and has managed to achieve a sound macroeconomic environment coupled with the restoration of democracy and fundamental human rights. Our growth rate has increased and despite the harsh effects of the global economic crisis, we continue to move forward.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank recently recognised the economic achievements in Guyana. We should note that policies and institutional reforms required by these International Financial Institutions (IFIs) are not easy to implement in a situation where there is a paucity of monetary resources.

No country has made rapid progress to fulfill the criteria of these IFIs without robust growth, since progress hinges critically on sustained economic growth.

The ability to translate growth into progress on poverty reduction and other development goals varies widely, depending on the policy orientation of countries, and so it is important to note that Guyana remains committed to sustaining a sound macroeconomic environment.

Elizabeth Daly

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