Most of the economies in the Caribbean are expected grow by around a cumulative 4.1 per cent this year with the Guyana economy leading the way in that growth trajectory according to the most recent “Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2021: Labour dynamics and employment policies for sustainable and inclusive recovery beyond the COVID-19 crisis,” from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The study indicates that Guyana, whose economy has now begun to be buttressed by revenues from its oil sales, will lead the way in terms of economic growth in the region with a forecast of 16 per cent this year.
Projections of significant external investment-driven economic growth in Guyana this year, however, have been tempered by concerns that the organizational infrastructure necessary to facilitate and expedite the interests of potential investors are being stymied by ‘knots’ in the system. The Dominican Republic is projected to record the second highest growth rate, 8 per cent, while Grenada is expected to follow with a projected 4.7% growth rate, the ECLAC study says.
The significant gap between Guyana’s projected growth rate and those of the remaining countries in the hemisphere hinges on the likely attraction of increasing external investment in the country’s economy as returns from projected oil sales seem set to open further significant opportunities for major expatriate investor interest in the country.
But even as upbeat projections for Guyana’s growth trajectory continue to materialize, there are indications that long-standing weaknesses in the domestic infrastructure for facilitating would-be investors continue to pose challenges. Last week as Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo was in the United States promoting Guyana as wide open to investment opportunities, US Ambassador Sarah Ann Lynch, addressing a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce, made public complaints by US businesses pouring into Guyana to cash in on oil and gas-driven investment opportunities about the lack of a business-friendly environment here.
ECLAC Country Forecast Percentage Growth – 2021
• Guyana 16
• Dominican Republic 8
• Grenada 4.7
• Dominica 4.3
• Jamaica 4
• Saint Lucia 3.6
• Saint Kitts and Nevis 3.3
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3
• Barbados 3
• Belize 2.7
• The Bahamas 2.3
• Cuba – unstated
