Poverty in the age of oil
In 2021, the International Monetary Fund projected Guyana as the fourth largest growing economy in the world for 2022. This projection was made during the raging global pandemic that sent economies into a tailspin, and caused the deaths and prolonged illness of millions of people across the word. We’re almost to the end of the year. COVID-19 is still very real and present, albeit less of a threat due to vaccination efforts, and Guyana’s economy has predictably expanded at an extraordinary rate.
It would be idealistic however, to believe that this significant growth in Guyana’s wealth (compliments of oil) will benefit the large majority. What it will do is create opportunities for a small subset of people, while the majority continue to live in poverty and survival mode. Last month, ExxonMobil recorded one of its highest net incomes in its history. It must not be lost that this occurred during a time when regional industries are struggling as we face the excesses of climate change, largely caused by corporations such as Exxon. While Guyana remains one of Exxon’s most profitable cash cows that they will continue to milk until the last drop, our people are already aware of what it means to be resource rich and everyday poor.
Our economy, even before oil, was dangerously reliant on extractive industries. Gold, diamond, bauxite etc. have caused, and continue to cause irreparable damage to our environment and citizens. This is particularly true for Indigenous Peoples who are constantly forced off their lands, have their waterways polluted and their way of life threatened. The effects that oil production and extraction will have on the health and wellbeing of our environment and people is not yet fully known, but it has already begun to be felt. This is particularly in the area of human economic well-being.
Red Thread Guyana has, from the inception, been vocal about the impacts that focus on the oil economy will wreak on citizens, if measures to ensure their wellbeing are not taken into account. More recently, they have been doing written and visual series focused on highlighting the struggles that working families, (especially women) are facing in this burgeoning economy. Spoiler alert, the reality is grim. In their most recent video, “Who feels it knows,” they document the struggles surrounding rising cost of living and the inability of many women to afford the essentials their household needs. One thing that really stuck out for me was when a mother of an infant detailed trying to buy her baby’s milk but being unable to because the prices had skyrocketed. She had to choose another milk to give to her baby. It was a brand that she did not know or trust, but it was the only thing that she could afford. In the face of rising condominiums, gated communities and increasing GDP rates, this is the reality for people on the ground.
A snapshot of this reality was caught by the World Bank which last month released a report on Guyana. It indicated that despite being one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Guyana’s poverty rate has increased as many people feel the impacts of rising costs for food and other goods. The Bank noted that approximately 48% of the population live in poverty, with about half of these households experiencing lower total household income compared to pre-pandemic levels. A lot of the income loss that was increased during the start of the pandemic, has not seen improvements to date, making it very apparent that we are simply choosing to leave those who are poor behind, while we race towards hitting another developmental target. With Guyana’s economy shifting towards a middle income one, there also has been a stark reduction in international aid that funds NGOs. NGOs have largely been playing the role that the government needs to play when it comes to the provision of resources and information that is needed by the people. Lack of access to these resources will contribute towards significant gaps in service provision and support.
The stance that we have been getting from the government is that they cannot do anything about the rising cost of living and the socio-economic hardships that the people are facing. Their main approach to date is the handing over of one-off cash grants, whose measly sums should be considered disrespectful in today’s economy. Cash grants can be incredibly helpful to people, but these need to be done in a concerted way rather than an ad hoc manner. They need to be contained in a policy rather than being reliant on the random whims of the government. That is not how you plan for a prosperous future for all, or sustain growth.