POLITICS: Challenges facing the new Government of Guyana – By Sir Ronald Sanders

 By Sir Ronald Sanders 

The one upside of the challenges facing the Government of Guyana after a 5-month impasse in declaring the result of general elections on March 2, is that the country’s economic growth in 2020 is projected at a whopping 52.8% – surpassing all 26 Latin American and Caribbean states.  This trend is likely to continue for many years to come.

Guyana has become a hotbed for new oil and gas production. Since 2015, there have been 19 oil discoveries, resulting in estimated recoverable petroleum resources of more than 8 billion barrels.  Between December 2019 and June 2020, this newly found wealth in oil and gas provided the government US$95M in royalties paid by ExxonMobil from its first two oil sales.