Unveiling a record $383.1 billion budget for 2021, Minister with responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh said yesterday that the economy is projected to grow by 20.9% if it reopens via a gradual lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
This is less than half of the 43.5% growth which was recorded in 2020 but according to Singh, Guyana could very well see the non-oil sector this year grow by 6.1%. This growth would be a significant reversal of the 7.3% contraction recorded for the non-oil sector in 2020.
Singh, who presented the $383.1 billion budget to the National Assembly under the theme “A path to Recovery, Economic Dynamism and Resilience” at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in the absence of the main opposition APNU+AFC, stated that though it is the largest budget ever laid — $53.5 billion larger than the 2020 budget — it will be financed without the addition of any new taxes.