By Akeem Greene

Business Minister Dominic Gaskin is of the view that the Christmas season will bring the boost the economy desperately needs.

When the Minister was quizzed about how he felt about the approaching Christmas season, he responded, “I think as usual the Christmas season will give the economy a boost: people will travel to Guyana; more persons will spend money.” The Minister disclosed that many capital projects were delayed as the Budget was not passed, and the economy would now begin to benefit from these projects.

The Business Ministry has a strategic plan which if materialised would see the economic infrastructure flourishing. Gaskin explained that among the plan’s objectives were promoting investments, improving ways of doing business and increasing exports.  The Minister disclosed that the strategic plan was a five-year programme, which he believed the Ministry could have begun undertaking within a month, but after consultations with stakeholders, it sought a more comprehensive approach and got assistance from a consultant attached to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Gaskin is of the view that this would only enhance the initial five-year plan.

Only recently, a Mid-Year Report, released by the Finance Ministry, showed the country’s economy declined some 2.5 per cent in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2014. The report outlined that initially, Guyana’s half-year growth was estimated to be at 0.9 per cent. However, with the passage of time and the benefit of actual first-half performance in a number of sectors, the country’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recorded a growth of 0.7 per cent in the first half of 2015, with non-sugar GDP recording a growth rate of 0.8 per cent.

In the report, the Finance Ministry stated that the contributory factors to Guyana’s low economic performance during this period were the late presentation and passing of this year’s National Budget, which was as a result of the 10th Parliament being prorogued in November 2014 and its subsequent dissolution in February 2015, followed by the General and Regional Elections in May. Moreover, given the measures outlined in Budget 2015, it is projected that there would be 3.4 per cent economic growth in the second half of the year.

The Report stated that although the economy’s first-half performance was less than desired, this was not unexpected given the internal affairs of the country during the first six months. Going forward, the Ministry said the outlook for the second half of the year remained positive.