Dramatically accelerated growth and development will be seen over the next two years from the sale of Guyana’s climate services, according to President Bharrat Jagdeo. In his presentation scheduled for last night’s independence flag-raising at the National Park, Jagdeo said that this year Guyana will receive between US$30m and US$42m for climate services “putting us on a long-term trajectory to sell these services for far greater prices once the international climate system is put in place.”
This figure includes US$30m which is to flow from Norway under a forest protection deal. Jagdeo declared that the sum due to Guyana is the second largest arrangement of its type in the world and the “world’s largest national scale forest payments scheme”. Jagdeo enthused that the dramatic growth will include the “harnessing of hydropower, expanding the digital infrastructure, and establishing world class research and educational facilities. These and other investments will catalyse the rapid transformation we seek for our economy and help to complete our transition to a truly modern and prosperous country. These are the investments that will really reduce the cost of doing business, attract large scale expansion in value added production, create thousands of jobs in new and emerging service sectors, and diversify our economy. These are the investments that will catapult our economic growth to the levels it should be, and generate increased incomes and opportunities for our people.” He said that there were cynics who did not think that Guyana was ready to make such big choices but asserted that the future lay with those who can focus on the opportunities and the positive Guyanese values.
“These values are needed as we face the big questions that are already creating a new agenda for the years ahead – how do we forge closer ties with our neighbours and friends like Brazil, China, and India, as emerging forces in the world economy?
How do we optimise on the advantages of being a strategic bridge between CARICOM on the north and our continental neighbours on the south? How do we build on our existing educational achievements to equip our citizens for success in a digital economy?
And how do we continue to play a leading role in shaping the international environment to build a fairer financial system and re-orient our economy onto a low carbon, climate resilient trajectory? And as we work out how to face these challenges, can we do so in a way that sustains progress for all of our people?”Jagdeo asked.
The President boasted that Guyana was among the first in the world to identify the urgency of dealing with climate change and was the co-author of the largest national scale forest payments scheme.
He said that in a few hours he was scheduled to leave for Oslo, Norway for one of the most important meetings on tropical deforestation where leaders from across the globe are expected to commit US$5b over the next three years to fight deforestation and forest degradation.
He reiterated that Guyana was at the fore from the start in synthesizing this partnership and along with other forest countries had demonstrated that “developing countries can shape the world of tomorrow”. Earlier in his address, he argued that his government had exercised sound macroeconomic policies and as a result the gross domestic product “is several times larger than it was twenty years ago, inflation is under control, our currency is stable, our external reserves are at their highest level ever, our external indebtedness is at a sustainable level, and our fiscal deficit is declining.”
He then enumerated a list of initiatives which he said reflect heavy investment in the people of Guyana. He cited the imminent $500m programme in collaboration with a private bank for single parents, the planned expenditure of $1.1b to ensure that every child receives a school uniform and a basic meal each day at school. The President added “So let us remember today how far we have travelled. Let us pay tribute to the countless Guyanese who made this possible – the farmers and miners who create wealth for our country, the nurses, teachers, police and public servants who serve our people every day; our soldiers stationed in every corner of our country; our diplomats protecting our interests around the world; our NGOs fighting for global justice in Copenhagen; and our private and other non-governmental sectors.
“But let us also look to tomorrow – as we increasingly turn away from the faded flags of the past, and judge ourselves by the quality of our values, the calibre of our achievements, and the strength of our resolve. Were we so to do, we would be more convinced than ever before that the Guyanese people are making the right choices and that our independence is ever more secure.”
