GDP per capita causing de dollar to vanish

Jun 09, 2024 Dem Boys Seh, Features / Columnists, News

Kaieteur News – “Lemme tell yuh something ’bout GDP per capita.” Now, we all know dis fancy figure does mek headlines and give dem bigwigs like de Vee Pee someting to boast ’bout. Guyana’s GDP per capita fly from US$6,400 in 2019 to a whopping US$18,200 in 2022. If yuh blink too long, yuh might tink yuh living in de next Dubai. But tek a good look ’round, and yuh gon see a different story.

All dis talk ’bout GDP per capita is like putting lipstick pon a pig. Sure, it look nice in de newspapers and mek de politicians walk tall. But dem boys seh, “Where de money deh” De average man hustling harder dan ever, an’ de cricket stadium at Providence emptier dan a church on a Monday.

Yuh know things bad when even de cricketers can’t draw a crowd. Dem ticket prices high, yes, but if all dat oil money was trickling down to we pockets, de stadium woulda been packed, even for matches between teams nobody hear ’bout. But no, de stands stay bare, like dem promise of better days.

Dem boys seh, “Check de other Caribbean islands.” Barbados, Trinidad, dem places gon have crowds big enough to mek de ground shake. Meanwhile, back in Guyana, yuh could hear a pin drop in de stadium. Is like de oil money jump straight from de well to de pockets of dem big oil companies, bypassing de small man entirely.

GDP per capita like it tek a rocket ride to de moon while de small man still hustling to buy a lil rice and chicken. Dem boys seh, “GDP per capita more like GP-de pocket ah dem oil companies.” De fancy number sound nice, but it ain’t doing nothing for de people who really need it.

So next time yuh hear ’bout how Guyana getting richer, ask yuhself, “Who really getting rich?” De answer might surprise yuh. Or maybe not, ’cause dem boys know de truth. De money flowing, but it flowing like de Demerara River – always going out to sea, never staying home.

So dem boys seh, “Keep yuh GDP per capita.” We gon be happy when we see de money in we pocket, not just in de headlines. Until den, we gon be watching empty stands and wondering where all de wealth really deh.

Talk half. Leff half

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Dem Boys Seh, Dubai, headlines, Providence, vanish

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