Guyana on the Path to Social Upswing

In a remarkable announcement, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali unveiled several social policy measures set to be implemented in time for the next elections. A central innovation is the provision of free college education, complemented by a one-time payment of nearly $1,000 for each of the approximately 264,000 households in the resource-rich country. Additionally, electricity costs are to be halved and the monthly minimum wage increased from $350 to $500. These measures can be financed thanks to the country’s recently improved economic standing, as Ali explained in a special session of parliament. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo affirmed that the current budget of the roughly $22 billion economy can effortlessly support these expenditures. Guyana, which became an emerging oil exporter in 2015 following ExxonMobil’s significant oil discoveries off the Atlantic coast, recorded an impressive GDP growth of over 60 percent in 2022. By 2027, oil production is expected to rise from the current 645,000 barrels per day to 1.3 million barrels per day. In addition to social improvements, the government is advancing numerous infrastructure projects, including the construction of hospitals, schools, hotels, highways, the first deep-water port, and a $1.9 billion gas-to-energy project to reduce energy costs. The return to free tertiary education, which was discontinued in the 1990s under IMF pressure, is one of many steps to address the cost of living.