A national economic survey of business establishments is scheduled to begin shortly and Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh says the survey is important to the rebasing of the national accounts to allow for more accurate measuring of economic activity conducted in Guyana.
The minister has also urged the enumerators involved to ensure that their work generates information that is accurate and which represents a total picture of economic activity in Guyana.
Minister Singh made the remarks at the closing session of an eight-day training workshop by the Accounts Divi-sion of the National Bureau of Statistics, the Government Information Services (GINA) reported.
The activity which was held at Regency Suites, Hadfield Street, Georgetown, commenced on March 10 and included participation by some 70 enumerators from across the country.
The survey will also allow for the capture of key economic and social indicators which constitute a critical element of the mandate of the Bureau of Statistics and the government in measuring economic and social activity.
GINA noted that the current base year of the country’s national accounts is 1988, some 20 years ago, and there have been dramatic changes in both the global and domestic economy as well as other aspects of social development.
Singh emphasised the dramatic changes that have occurred in the domestic economy over the last twenty years, including the introduction of comprehensive policies which led to the liberalisation of the economy and the return to a market-based economy, an extensive privatisation programme with a number of former public enterprises being placed in the private sector, and the reinvigoration of private entrepreneurial initiative.
According to the minister these have led to the emergence and growth of a number of new sectors in today’s economy which were non-existent twenty years ago. Among these he highlighted the information and communications technology, tourism and hospitality sectors, and a number of other non-traditional sectors which have completely transformed the economic landscape relative to twenty years ago.
Reference was also made to technological advancements since 1988 such as developments in information and other technology, all of which have transformed the operations of businesses in most productive sectors of the economy.
He said that in an ideal world, some may argue that the national accounts should be rebased as frequently as every year but it is recognised that the process is very comprehensive and costly. Therefore it is unlikely that small countries such as Guyana and others in the Caribbean can conduct surveys on this scale very frequently.
Instead, a more acceptable interval between base years has to be applied, and Singh indicated that a commitment has been made at the regional level to conduct regular surveys at least to base year 2000. In Guyana’s case, the rebasing would be done to base year 2006.
The minister also highlighted the recent Household Income and Expenditure Survey that gathered extensive data on household consumption which will be used in conjunction with the data gathered from the National Economic Survey to enable Guyana to rebase its national accounts to base year 2006.
Meanwhile, external support from agencies such as the United States Bureau of Census, Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC), CARICOM Secretariat and Trinidad and Tobago’s Central Statistical Office, and the efforts of the management and staff of the local Bureau of Statistics were also acknowledged.
