ACCORDING to the Bureau of Statistics, the cumulative inflation rate at the end of October was 5.7 per cent. This was for the period December 2002 to October 2003. There was an overall increase in the food group by 1.2 per cent.
There are those in our community who, unfortunately, can see nothing good emerging for Guyana at any time. They'd read widely or watch news or documentaries on television with a passion, privately agreeing that Guyana isn't peculiar in the difficulties countries face.
Yet, they'd rather criticize than acknowledge that in spite of our continuing problems, Guyana has come a mighty long way and Guyanese are better off today than they were previously - and better off than many other countries at that!
However, facts are facts, and the fact is that since the PPP/Civic came into office, it has striven to improve the living conditions of the people.
Among the skeptics are those who refuse to face the fact that before the PPP/Civic came into office, the rate of inflation was about 100 per cent. The cost of living was climbing yearly.
We have now been running at the rate of approximately 5 per cent inflation yearly, a far cry from before.
If we are to compare inflation rates in Guyana with those countries on this continent and with others, we can see that Guyana has done a tremendous job of keeping down inflation, which can hit, particularly, the lower income group with a knock-out blow.
The PPP/Civic government has also been successful in reducing poverty, one of the specific goals of the late President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan. From about a 76 percent rate of poverty in 1992, the government has steadily reduced poverty to below 35 per cent. We still have a long way to go, but under the Government's Poverty Reduction Strategy, approved by international financial institutions, it is expected that poverty will be further reduced.
It is well to remember that between 1988-1990, Guyana was ranked number 58 in terms of inward foreign direct investment performance by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Between 1999-2001, Guyana moved up to number 17 in terms of investment performance in the world by the UN body.
It is also well to keep in mind that Guyana has advanced rapidly in agriculture, one of the mainsprings of our economy. Unlike many underdeveloped countries that try to boost agriculture, but are faced with devastating famine due to lack of drainage and irrigation, Guyana spends billions annually to upgrade and maintain drainage and irrigation systems, which are essential to keeping the agriculture sector healthy and providing employment to thousands of farmers and those handling food for local use, processing and for export.
Although many throw stones at the achievements of the PPP/Civic government, it was refreshing to read the remarks of the new head of delegation for the European Commission to Guyana who said he was pleasantly surprised that Guyana is in fact vastly different from the pictures of violence and turmoil that were reported.