While some countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, notably Guyana, continue to show some measure of progress in retreating from the economic doldrums in which much of the hemisphere has been entrapped for decades, the economic effort associated with pushing back the surge of high crime that now afflicts parts of the region may well be rolling back the growth pursuits of the hemisphere.
The current experience of some countries in the hemisphere, including Guyana, would appear to suggest that a more upbeat economic outlook linked to the country’s major oil finds and enhanced regional and international recognition has been attended by concerns over inclinations towards financially motivated, nonviolent crimes committed by individuals, businesses, and well-placed state officials whose positions in the state system afford them opportunities to support the execution of crimes in both the state and business sectors.
In Guyana, where significant oil finds have altered the country’s business trajectory, analysts have suggested that the country’s economic upturn has been attended by collusion between state and private sector functionaries to create ‘structures’ that enable various types of crimes that realize significant economic gain. Whilst these developments have resulted a more than modest level of public outcry, seeming preoccupation with the consolidation of corruption-driven practices reportedly involving state and business sector functionaries would appear to possess greater ‘weight’ than official efforts to rein in the practices.
Some of the findings of the study contained in a report released earlier this month by the Inter-American Develop-ment Bank conclude that the momentum created by the recent economic gains realized by the region, much of it deriving from Guyana’s ‘world class’ oil finds, could do as much harm as good for the country’s image since those gains may well become compromised by the costs associated with rolling back crime surges linked to the recent condition of financial affluence and attendant profligate spending.
Some of the findings of the study released earlier this month suggests that for all the strides that parts of the region have made in the social and economic realms high crime costs continue to weigh down the region’s social and economic development.
