• President - Donald RAMOTAR
• Prime Minister - Samuel HINDS
• Min. of Agriculture - Dr. Leslie RAMSAMMY
• Min. of Amerindian Affairs - Pauline CAMPBELL-SUKHAI
• Min. of Culture, Youth and Sports - Dr. Frank Anthony
• Min. of Education - Priya MANICKCHAND 
• Min. of Finance - Dr. Ashni SINGH
• Min. of Foreign Affairs - Carolyn RODRIGUES-BIRKETT
• Min. of Health - Dr. Bheri RAMSARAN
• Min. of Home Affairs - Clement ROHEE
• Min. of Housing & Water - Mohamed Ifraan ALI
• Min. of Human Service and Social Security - Jennifer WEBSTER
• Min. of Labour - Dr. Nanda Kissore GOPAUL
• Min. of Legal Affairs - Mohabir Anil NANDLALL
• Min. of Local Government  and Regional Development - Ganga PERSAUD
• Min. of Natural Resources and the Environment - Robert MONTGOMERY
• Min. of Parliamentary Affairs and Energy - Samuel HINDS
• Min. of Public Services  - Dr. Jennifer Ann WESTFORD 
• Min. of Public Works - Brindley ROBESON BENN
• Min. of Tourism, Industry, & Commerce -
• Min. of Transport, Communication, & Hydraulics -
• Min. Within the Ministry of Agriculture - Alli BAKSH
• Min. Within Local Government and Regional Development - Norman WHITTAKER
• Min. Within the Ministry of Finance - Juan Anthony EDGHILL
• Head of Presidential Secretariat -
• Attorney General - Mohabir Anil Nandlall
• Governor, Bank of Guyana - Dolly S. SINGH
• Ambassador to the US - Bayney KARRAN
• Permanent Representative to the UN, New York - Rudolph INSANALLY

Public Holidays: New Year's Day (01 January); Republic Day (23 February), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labour Day (01 May), Phagwah (as decreed), Eid-ul-Azah (as decreed), Youman Nabi (as decreed), CARICOM Day (first Monday in July), Freedom Day (01 August), Diwali (as decreed), Christmas Day (25 December), Boxing Day (26 December)

General Trends
According to ECLAC's flagship report 'Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2009-2010', Guyana was one of the few countries in the Caribbean to experience robust growth in 2009. Recent estimates suggest that the economy grew by 3.3% in 2009 and 2% in 2008. Fairly robust primary commodity prices in world markets were one of the main reasons for the country’s performance. Growth of 4.3% is anticipated for 2010.
source: ECLAC

Commodity Market Update.  First Quarter, 2010

The Ministry of Agriculture has predicted that on average food prices are expected to rise by 11.3% in 2010.
Source: Guyana. Ministry of Agriculture

Economic Survey of the Caribbean 2008-2009

The survey provides an overview of the economic performance of countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for the year 2008 and their outlook for 2009.

General Trends
Guyana’s economic growth slowed to 3.1% in 2008, dampened by a mixture of external and internal factors, such as the global recession and the struggle of the sugar industry. The current account deficit deteriorated significantly (25.8% of GDP), while the external public debt increased substantially to 72% of GDP. However, inflation decelerated significantly (6.4% ecember-December).

Guyanese authorities implemented, through 2008, diverse measures aimed at countering the impact of negative externalities; fighting price inflation during the first half of the year; and, during the second half, managing to keep financial markets steady and preserve economic growth. Nevertheless, those efforts resulted in loss of consumption tax income,lower capital expenditure and increased stock of public debt. Official estimates for 2009 point to substantial growth, low inflation, and modest improvement of external accounts.

However the structural weaknesses of the economy remains, and will probably be exacerbated by the deepening of the global crisis. With a commodity-based export sector, a significant dependence on remittances from abroad, a high poverty rate and an elevated debt to GDP ratio, Guyana’s fiscal and monetary authorities will have to perform carefully to preserve stability and growth.
source: ECLAC

Economic Performance

During 2008 Guyana’s economy faced mounting difficulties as a result of the ongoing global recession and increasingly adverse international environment. GDP growth posted a rate of 3.1%, lower than the 5.4% recorded in 2007. The widening trade and current account deficits and the significant increase in external debt were other main macroeconomic concerns. In the context of falling exports prices and weakening internal and external demand, Guyana will have to struggle for significant economic expansion in 2009, says ECLAC in their latest report Preliminary Overview of the Caribbean  2008-2009

Economic Survey of the Caribbean 2007-2008

The survey provides an overview of the economic performance of countries of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) for the year 2007 and their outlook for 2008. The last chapter presents country briefs with the main macroeconomic developments in 2007 and the outlook for 2008.

During 2007, the economy of Guyana kept on a path of recovery and expansion, recording growth of 5.4%. This was a record figure for the last decade, especially after the stagnation period suffered between 2000 and 2005, when GDP growth averaged less than 0.2% annually. New investments and projects in several productive sectors (sugar processing, hydroelectric generation, gold and bauxite mining, oil extraction, etc.) aim to boost and sustain the current trend of economic growth for the next few years.

A major financial event for Guyana in 2007 was the drastic reduction in the level of the external debt, thanks to a wide forgiveness programme of multilateral debt. In this scenario, the central government’s surplus in the primary balance widened to 10.0% of GDP while the overall fiscal deficit narrowed to 7.4% of GDP.49 Efforts to keep the Guyana dollar’s nominal exchange rate stable were quite
successful, with an accumulated annual nominal depreciation against the United States dollar of just 1.2%.

However, there are concerns on how stable Guyana’s economy is, regarding the impact of external negative factors, like the sustained rise in food and oil prices or the sub-prime crisis currently affecting the United States. Particularly worrisome are the large current account deficit, which amounted to US$232 million (21.6% of GDP) fuelled by the increase of expenses on imports, and the steep increase of the inflation rate to 14.1%, which is a major concern for the government because of its direct influence on economic and social welfare and development.

Economic Performance

Guyana: Why Has Growth Stopped? An Empirical Study on the Stagnation of Economic Growth
IMF Working Paper, April 2007.
After a period of exceptionally strong economic performance, Guyana’s growth has stagnated since 1998. The paper tries to identify the factors that can explain this dramatic deterioration in economic performance. The paper first attempts to explain the decline of growth with a growth accounting exercise which shows that there was a significant swing in total factor productivity, and than uses a panel regression framework to analyze the growth impact of changes in various factors. Finally, through a series of cross-country exercises, the paper shows that the primary reasons for the divergence between the economic performance of Guyana and other Caribbean, HIPC, and PRGF-eligible countries in 1998-2004 are a substantial decline in share of net foreign and private domestic investment in GDP, a decline in the labor force, and a less favorable political and institutional environment.

CHALLENGES

Update on the Poverty Reduction Strategy

Key issues identified in the Guyana’s 2005 Poverty Reduction Strategy Progress Report were; (i) the neglecting response of mitigating measures to decrease the vulnerability to natural disasters; (ii) the stagnation of presenting a business friendly environment; (iii) more emphasis must be placed on traditional sectors( agriculture, mining, forestry) as they account for 34% of GDP; (iv) Improving competitiveness internationally is essential, since the open economy’s exports account for over 75% of GDP where assistance of export promotion from the Guyana Office of Investment (Golnvest) could be facilitating in this respect; Improving the monitoring and evaluation with updated poverty statistics (vi) finally, the report identifies problems of demographic changing due to high migration of skilled labourers.

Adopting a Formalised Plan

For years, the Guyana government has tried to conquer the troublesome task of alleviating poverty. In its efforts, economic policies and reforms on Guyana’s socio-economic development have been to no avail. Migration is the most observable problem that hinders upon the quality of human capital in Guyana. An IMF working paper, Emigration and Brain Drain: Evidence from the Caribbean, shows Caribbean countries ranking within the top 20 in the world in terms of skilled emigration rates. Moreover, Guyana emigration rates (in reference to educated labour force) stood at the highest amongst all countries, at 89%.

Guyana's National Drug Strategy Master Plan 2005-2009

The National Drug Strategy Master Plan of Guyana 2005-2009, reflects the recognition by all concerned that the level of drug activity in our country requires a comprehensive integrated and coordinated approach in order to make a major impact on controlling its penetration into the fabric of our society.

From the early 1990s, the Caribbean region has increasingly come under threat from the narco-traffickers with the expansion and diversification of their activities into the islands and territories of the Caribbean and South America. The sophistication and spread of their operations have caught most of the small developing countries of this region off guard and unprepared to respond to these incursions into these countries and societies.
Source: Bureau of Statistics

Poverty Reduction Strategy Progress Report 2005

This second annual progress report covers the periods from January through December 2004, and January 2005 to December 2009. It reflects Guyana's achievements and shortcomings in the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), and presents an action plan for 2005 and beyond. Despite the continued vulnerability of the economy to exogenous shocks, the inadequacy of infrastructure and the weakness of existing institutional capacity, there has been considerable progress in actions and reforms initiated by the Government within the framework of poverty reduction. After three years of implementation, the PRS has become established as the overall framework for sector strategies and has been increasingly used to focus partners’ contributions around the Government's priorities. However, external financing continues to lag behind donor pledges made at the time of the elaboration of the poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) in 2001.

The Issues and Challenges

The key issues identified in the 2004 Poverty Reduction Strategy Progress Report include (i) the difficult external environment, (ii) low absorptive capacity, (iii) challenging sociopolitical conditions, and (iv) weak monitoring and evaluation of the poverty reduction strategy programme. Although some success was achieved, many of these problems persist.
Source: Poverty Reduction Strategy 2005

Guyana’s National Development Strategy

The National Development Strategy (NDS) sets out priorities for our nation's economic and social development for the next decade. The draft document - which is made up six volumes - contains careful technical analysis of problems and future prospects in all sectors of the economy and in areas of social concern. It presents us with an opportunity to work together to prepare Guyana for the challenges of the next century.

The draft NDS - which was launched on Monday 6th January, 1997 by the late President His Excellency Dr Cheddi Jagan - is a result of over 300 hours of meetings by 23 "technical working groups" consisting of over 200 Guyanese. These efforts were co-ordinated by the Ministry of Finance, but the contributors came from a wide cross-section of organisations including the private sector, government agencies, non-government agencies, and the University of Guyana. The Carter Center assisted the Ministry of Finance with the overall co-ordination of the exercise.
This article summarises the key recommendations made by the NDS in the areas of macroeconomics (Volume 2), the social sectors (Volume 3), the productive sectors (Volume 4) and the infrastructure sectors (Volume 5).
Source: National Development Strategy Plan 2005

2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Western Hemisphere)

All men and women desire and deserve to live in dignity and liberty. As President Bush said: "The advance of freedom is the great story of our time." Promoting human rights and democracy is a worldwide phenomenon and there is a growing global discussion of democracy and the universal values protected by democratic governance.

By defending and advancing human rights and democratic principles, we keep faith with our country’s most cherished values and lay the foundation for lasting peace. Fulfilling the promise of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and building vibrant democracies worldwide will take generations, but it is work of the utmost urgency that cannot be delayed.
Source:US Dept. of State

Guyana Strategic Plan 2003 – 2007

Education has been signalled as a national priority. The National Development Strategy (NDS) document and the Guyana Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (GPRSP) contain clear statements to this effect. There is considerable agreement in the society that the road to national development can be achieved only through learning and hard work. There is a profound level of consciousness in the leadership of the country that it is necessary to improve the human capital of Guyana by giving all citizens the opportunity to grow to their fullest potential, paving the way to greater productivity and economic development.
During the past decade the Government has made substantial efforts to improve the education system. The proportion of the national budget allocated to education was increased by over ten percent; international loans from different agencies and bilateral cooperation from some countries have supported initiatives in the education sector; and some significant changes have been introduced. In 1995, the Ministry released the Education Policy Document, outlining several options to improve the schools and the learning taking place in the country.
Source: Ministry of Education Strategic Plan

Largest financial commitment in history made to reverse deforestation

Saturday, May 29, 2010.  Georgetown, Guyana - On Thursday, heads of state and government, including Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo, ministers and other representatives of 50 countries concluded an agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation
source: Caribbean Net News

Guyana Tapped for Readiness Mechanism of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility

September 9, 2009. - Climate change is a top priority for Guyana. President Bharrat Jagdeo announced his willingness to place the country’s pristine rainforest under international long-term protection if the right market-based incentives are created by the international community.
Source: World Bank

Solid Waste Management

National Health Sector Strategy (NHSS) 2008–12

Key among the priority issues to be addressed in this NHSS are those related to primary health
care such as maternal and child health and, extend to the management and treatment of communicable (among them, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis) and non-communicable diseases, including mental health and substance abuse and disability.
source: Ministry of Health

Guyana National Health Plan 2003-2007:The Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Health

This National Health Plan (NHP) 2003-2007 outlines a strategy for the health sector over the next five years, which aims to achieve major improvements in services and the nation’s health. The purpose of this document is to:
􀂃 Provide a strategic framework for the sector with coherent goals, objectives and targets for the next five years
􀂃 Indicate the level of investment and recurrent costs required for achieving those goals, objectives and targets
􀂃 Guide the participation of all stakeholders in health development
􀂃 Facilitate monitoring of the performance of the sector at all levels.

Ministry promoting computer training among health workers

Source: Guyana Chronicle, 6th January 2009

The Minister pointed out the Ministry’s works, in collaboration with Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), to ensure that all health workers are computer literate through a six week remedial training course being held at the Ministry of Health Annex at Liliendaal.

Health Statistics from the Americas. 2006 edition. PAHO
The publication serves to display the extensive availability of detailed mortality data in countries of the Americas. It also highlights the importance of addressing deficiencies in data coverage and quality in order to improve the reliability and usefulness of registered mortality information. Despite improvements over the years, much more needs to be done to strengthen the civil registration and vital statistics systems in countries where they are deficient. The Pan American Health Organization gratefully acknowledges the continued cooperation and support of its Member States in providing this information for dissemination. I am confident that this information can contribute toward health situation analyses used by policymakers to make decisions that improve the health of the populations of the Americas.

The Coconut Industry in Guyana: Status and Prospects

Drought threatening Guyana agriculture 

February 15, 2010 – Drought conditions in Guyana, caused by a lingering El Nino, is threatening to cause billions of dollars in damage to the agriculture sector and officials say they’re doing all they can to, at least, limit the losses.
source: Caribbean News

Guyana Rice Development Board. Annual Report 2007

According to the General Manager of the GRDB, the year 2007 can be described as one with mixed fortunes. During
that year we have seen one of the highest exports since 1997. The year started with one of the largest crop, but due to the extended rainy season we have seen one of the smallest and with large carryover stocks from the second crop in 2006 we were able to supply this demand. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years and with a highly proactive farming community we will be able to full fill this increase demand.

Rice production for 2007 – First and Second crops Actual (MT) Projected (MT)
1st Crop 168,902 173,143
2nd Crop 129,223 176,053
TOTAL 298,125 349,196

Guyana Forest Sector Information Report: January to June 2008

This report focuses on the Forestry Sector in Guyana for the first half of 2008. Production and export of various forest products based on Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) data are assessed in comparison with the previous year first half performance. Additionally, the report compares summary averages of domestic and export prices and sector employment levels.

Source: Guyana Forestry Commission

ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS BILL 2009

GUYANA FORESTRY COMMISSION BILL 2007

AN ACT to repeal and replace the Guyana Forestry Commission Act 1979, re-establish the Guyana Forestry Commission, and provide for incidental matters.

GUYANA JUSTICE SECTOR REFORM STRATEGY 2006-2010: “Safety, security and access to justice for all”

The goal of the Justice Sector Reform Strategy describes the Government’s ultimate objective, to which the Strategy will make a substantial contribution. In effect, it provides the justification for the Strategy. Reflecting Government’s development objectives as set out in the PRSP, the Strategy goal is expressed as - Safety, security and access to justice for all'

The purpose of the Strategy expresses its immediate objective and intended impact. It reflects the specific means by which the Strategy will achieve its goal of safety, security and access to justice for all. The purpose of the Strategy is expressed as – To deliver a justice system that is more trusted, accessible and accountable and works together to deliver all necessary services efficiently and effectively
Source:Government of Guyana

Selected Statistical Indicators for GUYANA
UN Statistics Division: MDG Indicators 
Caribbean Social Statistics Database
Caribbean Trade Statistical Database

News Items

• Inauguration Statement by His Excellency Donald Ramotar, President of Guyana
  The General and Regional Elections of 2011 have been concluded. The results have been declared. These results reflect the democratic will of the people which is paramount and which must be respected. This is the very essence of democracy and our elections have reaffirmed our maturity as a democratic nation, something of which we should all be proud......
  
• Canada seeks extension of Caribbean free trade accord
  GEORGETOWN, Guyana. 23 November 2011 — Canada will ask the World Trade Organization (WTO) to extend  a Caribbean-Canada Trade Agreement for two years because negotiations for a new  trade accord have not concluded.
  Source: Google News

• Guyana presidential candidate calls on business community to help solve ethnic problems
    by Global News Staff April 28 2011
  GEORGETOWN, Guyana -- The first of a series of presentations by Guyana's presidential candidates was delivered on Wednesday  when the Alliance for Change (AFC) nominee, Khemraj Ramjattan, told the business community that it should play a major role  in addressing ethnic insecurity.
  
• Guyana's president dismisses US economic report
   Saturday, May 1, 2010.  Georgetown, Guyana --
  President Bharrat Jagdeo has dismissed the findings of the US State Department 2010 Index of Economic Freedom as an untrue reflection of reality in Guyana.

• Are remittances pivotal to Guyana’s development?

by Tarron Khemraj
Several commentators have recently expressed the view that remittances are important for Guyana’s economic development

• Maintaining macro-economic stability is priority for Guyana government

February 11, 2009 .  Guyana (GINA): Maintaining macroeconomic stability in the immediate and medium-term has been targeted as a priority in the setting of the 2009 National Budget in Guyana

• Guyana third in World Bank World Development Index 2008

Guyana placed behind Dominica and Grenada in the Caribbean on the World Bank’s World Development Indicator for 2008. source: Caribbean Net News

• Guyana concerned over cost to access EU funding to implement EPA

October 27, 2008. Guyana: The European Commission (EC) has said that it has mobilized some 165 million euros (US$210 million) through the European Development Fund (EDF) Regional Programme for the Caribbean to help assist CARIFORUM with the implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)

• Guyana: World Bank Approves $9.6 Million Grant to Strengthen Economic Governance and Reduce Poverty

Washington, April 27, 2006 ?The World Bank’s Board of Directors today approved a $9.6 million International Development Association (IDA) grant to support the government of Guyana in its efforts to strengthen economic governance and reduce poverty. In particular, the new program aims to improve transparency, accountability and efficiency with which resources are used across the public sector, including by strengthening the role of Parliament in fiduciary oversight.
Source: World Bank

• Presidents Jagdeo and Castro sign cooperation agreements

Georgetown, GINA, February 04, 2006

Guyana and Cuba have heightened their relations with Presidents Bharrat Jagdeo and Fidel Castro affixing their signatures on enhanced cooperation agreements.

President Jagdeo left Guyana for Cuba on February 1, accompanied by Minister of Public Service Dr. Jennifer Westford, Director of Budget Dr. Ashni Singh, Director of Regional Health Services Dr. Bheri Ramsarran and Director of Protocol at the Office of the President Col. Francis Abrahams.
Source:Office of the President of Guyana