Resource curse has taken root in Guyana – Ram warns

May 04, 2026 News

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…says democracy, accountability no longer exists

(Kaieteur News) – There are a number of indicators that the resource curse has taken root in Guyana with democracy and accountability decaying rapidly in the country, according to attorney and chartered accountant, Christopher Ram.

In his column published on Sunday by Kaieteur News, the advocate for good governance pointed to the collapse in functioning of institutions and bodies geared towards improving oversight, especially at a time when oil revenues and public expenditure balloon.

The columnist anchored his argument on the failure of this government to properly convene parliament, which has only met on three occasions for business.

“The 13th Parliament of Guyana, elected on 1^st September 2025, has held three business sessions in eight months. And that figure is generous. It includes the budget and two formalities,” Ram said.

Consequently, the lawyer pointed out that the 13th Parliament has transacted one piece of real legislative business since the country went to the polls in September 2025, the lowest level of parliamentary activity in Guyana since 1966.

According to the columnist, “President Ali, in his second term, has made history of a kind no head of government should want. The slide is dangerous-for democracy, for accountability, and for everyone except the president himself.”

In rapidly developing countries like Guyana, Ram pointed to two phenomena that often occurs – the Dutch disease and the resource curse.

While he believes that the Dutch disease has been contained, Ram argued that the resource curse has befallen this nation.

The resource curse, commonly referred to as the paradox of plenty, occurs in countries with abundant non-renewable natural resources such as oil, gas and minerals. They experience lower economic growth, less democracy, and worse development outcomes than countries with fewer resources. It often causes authoritarianism, corruption, conflict, and economic volatility in countries.

Between the gap of visible macroeconomic stability and invisible institutional decay, Ram told readers, “The resource curse has taken root.”

He explained, “The evidence sits in the National Assembly. Successive Parliaments since Independence have, in the eight months following each general election, sat many times more than the Thirteenth – by factors ranging up to six times. Even during our most constrained transitions, post-1992 and post-1997, the National Assembly met several times more.”

Shifting his attention to President Irfaan Ali, the lawyer argued that the Head-of-State has effectively suspended the deliberative function of the legislature at the precise moment when oil revenues and public expenditure are accelerating, and major fiscal commitments are being announced by executive declaration.

While the Standing Orders provide for about a dozen committees in the National Assembly, none have been appointed to date as Parliament has not properly convened, according to him.

To this end, the lawyer said, “There is no accountability or democracy in any sense.

This is not an oversight. It is by presidential design. Even those bodies that exist are dysfunctional.”

Ram pointed out that Constitutional Reform Commission has been silent and the Commissioner of Information remains in place “because a do-nothing post is what the President seems comfortable with”.

Additionally, the Chartered Accountant explained that the Public Accounts Committee, chaired by a member of the main Opposition, has not been appointed and cannot meet. As such, the body is unable to examine years of Auditor General reports covering public expenditure in the range US$4 billion to US$5 billion between 2020 and 2025. It is also unable to examine whether the current Auditor General is beyond the legally permissible age for the office, Ram added.

Causing deeper worry is a structural problem at the apex of the public finance system.

The lawyer pointed out, “The Office of the Auditor General is constitutionally required to audit every ministry, department and government-owned or controlled entity, including the Ministry of Finance. It is a matter of public knowledge that there is spousal overlap. The conflict is not theoretical. It is structural, permanent, and deliberate.”

The situation is compounded by boards across the stake stacked with “yes-men and yes-women under carefully choreographed chairs” according to the lawyer.

Ram said, “None of this would be sustainable without external acquiescence. It has been granted in full. The British and the Canadians, vocal monitors of Guyana’s electoral standards only months ago, have conveniently forgotten the ruling party’s abuse of State resources to secure President Ali his second term. The Americans have gone further. The United States Ambassador is publicly pressing the country to abandon its decades – old relationships with Cuba and China, while a representative of that same government refers to Guyana as occupying America’s backyard.”

The lawyer argued that where Western capitals and domestic professionals once raised institutional standards, they now have other priorities with oil, gold, forestry and money far better choices than democracy.

Ram explained, “To confirm the resource curse, the president goes solo – speaking on every topic and for every minister. His advisory Cabinet has been reduced to an audience of convenience.”

The lawyer opined that policy is announced before Cabinet gives approval. To this end he warned, “This is how the resource curse arrives – whether in Hungary or in some poorly led countries. Not by leaps, but by gradual steps. Until one day, you wake up and it’s gone.”

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• Christopher Ram, Exxon, Guyana Oil, resource curse

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