–Dr Ali says, schools critics on true meaning of macroeconomic indicators
President Dr Irfaan Ali has strongly rejected claims that Guyana’s recent economic growth is being driven primarily by government spending, describing such assertions as “comical” and rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of basic macroeconomics.
Addressing the performance of the non-oil economy, Dr Ali early this morning stressed that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures production, not payments, and that sustained growth in non-oil GDP reflects increased output and productivity across sectors such as construction, manufacturing, agriculture, services, transport and trade.
He noted that government spending is not itself a production sector, and only appears in GDP when it results in real economic activity, for example, when a contractor builds infrastructure, a supplier delivers goods, or workers are employed.
Dr. Ali reiterated that assertion being peddled by some critics are: “devoid of facts, reality or any understanding as to how the economy works, how systems work and how government operate. Government expenditure in the economy is geared towards enhancing services, building resilience, expanding opportunity, creating jobs and building prosperity for every single Guyanese and every single Guyanese family.”
He pointed to capital investments such as the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara Harbour Bridge and the construction and rehabilitation of hinterland roads, noting that these projects reduce travel time and fuel costs, improve connectivity, and support higher productivity, particularly for miners and those in the forestry sector.
Such spending, he said, creates jobs, encourages investment and expands economic opportunity.
“Now the parrots will continue. The parrots have their political agenda, but it is important for us as a people to understand the reality, appreciate the reality,” President Ali said.
The President said that non-oil GDP has grown consistently, rising from 4.6 per cent in 2021 to 14.3 per cent in 2025 and averaging 13 per cent between 2022 and 2025, with non-oil sectors contributing almost 20 per cent of total economic expansion in 2025.
