The Low-key 2024 Christmas Celebration: A Sign of Disappointment and Unease in ‘Oil-Rich Guyana?

Jan 05, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

I hate to start the year on a sour note, but isn’t it strange how low-key the recently concluded Christmas celebrations have been? Wondering if it was just my impression, I mentioned this to friends and others I met and everyone (with the possible exception of one) said it was also their impression. This certainly leads one to wonder what is going on in this ‘oil-rich’, fastest-growing country of ours. Sure enough, there were the grand government displays on Main Street, but this reinforces an emerging pattern where everything revolves around Exxon and government initiative. And I must also mention the exuberant fireworks explosions on Old Year’s Night. However, there seemed to be a marked decline in Christmas decorations and typical social activities (staff parties, etc.).

In my conversations I probed for an explanation and these are the main lines of thinking that emerged. One explanation was a cultural one: the view that the enthusiasm for Christmas traditions was waning. The decline was said to be starting in the schools where accustomed Christmas activities are no longer being maintained. This explanation begs the question as to why the sudden, noticeable change this year. Surely, such a cultural decline would be gradual and would have been observed in previous years. A second explanation offered is an economic view: “Things tight. Paisa na deh!” There is a constant refrain about the brutal rate of inflation on basic household items that the poor in particular have to cope with. Now, this explanation also raises further questions. Considering the recently announced public sector wage increases and the $100,000 cash grant, isn’t it reasonable to expect a freer hand in Christmas spending? You don’t have to receive the money to loosen the purse strings. Just the expectation of imminent cash should be enough. So, what is going on, I wonder?

One friend was quick to point out that the confusion around the distribution of the cash grant has soured the process for many: the initial App that didn’t work, the need to line up for registration and collection, etc. Why not make more use of bank deposits, he suggested? Another possibility that comes to mind is that with all the car buying, persons have decided to attack their debts with the back-pay windfall? I would not question the wisdom of such decisions.

I am left with the sense that with all the hype about oil and gas and massive construction works, the relatively muted Christmas celebrations portend an atmosphere of uncertainty and unease about the future – what the new year holds. Even with pay increases and the cash grant in the air, the atmosphere of economic tightness and distress for average people continues to prevail. There is the sense that the oil bonanza is still not making a marked favorable difference in people’s lives. For most, their accustomed struggles continue, and people are waking up to the reality of money illusion where increased cash does not mean increased purchasing power. As we enter this election year, let’s hope the political leadership elites understand their responsibility to pursue policies that improve the wellbeing of Guyanese people.