I doubt that Guyana has become an upper middle class country

Jul 22, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,

It was with utter amazement that I read the front page heading, that Guyana is now rated upper middle class by the World Bank. KN July 20, 2016 As I “dove” (now a valid scrabble word—LOL) into the body of the article, that amazement graduated into total disbelief. ”In the wake of the discovery of further oil reserves in the Liz- 2 well, Guyana has moved from a lower middle income into the upper middle income classification” Good grief…has anyone of these people ever visited Guyana? Have they gone to a local supermarket and compared prices? It is so amazing how these institutions come up with these ratings.
With an income tax threshold is $660,000 (US$3,248) per annum….how on earth can anyone make-do with that money in GT? And mind you, Guyana ’s basic minimum wage is below the threshold. The report further stated, ”While this change places Guyana in an enhanced standing on the world stage and is an indicator of growth, it will also mean a change in Guyana’s eligibility to access loans from the World Bank.” Is this not a ploy by these multi-national organizations, to deceived Third World nations into believing that things are looking-up?” Thus enticing them (Third World nations) into borrowing more and more which ultimately drives their economies further into economic ruins? We only have to take a look at history. I pray that someone is paying attention
An amazing part of this report is the statement of OIL FIND. This caused Guyana to suddenly JUMP from the bottom of the heap. What will be our rating when we really begin to extract and export oil? I guess that we will become the richest country in the world, and a shining example to all? Please do not misunderstand me; I would love to see my country “jump” out of its present situation. But the reality of our present situation, I beg to differ. Just take a look at our main industries, all down with the exception of gold, which seems to be the only shining star. As stated by Minister of Finance Winston Jordan, are we gonna “live by gold alone?” Oh! I get it. The GUYS who gave themselves that big, fat fifty percent pay rise when they got into office are the ones whose economic status has risen. This must be surely a nice PR stunt.
Muhammad Raoof
USA.

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