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A reversal of economic fortunes

Feb 20, 2014 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
A report compiled by the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) for the year 2014 placed Guyana and Haiti ahead of all Caribbean countries with a projected growth rate of 4.5 per cent. This compares favourably with several of the stronger and more affluent economies in the region such as Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados with projected growth rates of 2.5, 1.2 and 1 percent respectively.
This relatively strong performance by Guyana and Haiti could be seen as a reversal of economic fortunes since both of these countries were at one time at the bottom of the performance ladder and were considered “pariah” states during the period of dictatorial and quasi-military rule.
Today both Haiti and Guyana have democratically elected governments and have broken away from their authoritarian past. Guyana at one time was declared by the IMF as being “uncreditworthy” and therefore ineligible for donor assistance. The country was unable to honour its debt obligations to the IMF and other financial institutions.
All of that has now changed. Guyana is now free from the IMF programme, unlike some other Caribbean countries which are still grappling with huge debt burden and IMF-imposed conditionalities and austerity measures.
The PPPC administration must be given credit for putting Guyana on the regional spotlight in terms of economic growth and social development. The country was only recently lauded by the Caribbean Development Bank for its economic management and fiscal discipline which has resulted low inflation rates, stable foreign exchange, healthy foreign exchange reserves and overall sound macro-economic stability.
If there is one lesson that can be drawn from the growth trajectory of Guyana and Haiti is that there is a positive correlation between democracy and economic and social development. Democracy has the effect of unlocking the development potential of a nation as the experiences of both Guyana and Haiti so unmistakably demonstrated.
Hydar Ally

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