Oil wealth not spreading countrywide – Jagdeo, Campbell

Last Updated on Saturday, 20 December 2025, 18:37 by Writer

Six years after oil production, wealth from the hydrocarbon sector is not reaching Guyanese countrywide, according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and parliamentary leader of the opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Dr Terrence Campbell.

The government is banking on the creation of tax-free investment zones across Guyana to stimulate production in the non-oil sectors as means of triggering growth and high-paying jobs from agro-food processing and other industries.

Referring to President Irfaan Ali’s five-year agenda that was delivered last Thursday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, Mr Jagdeo admitted that after more than half a decade of oil production, the benefits have been largely confined to Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) where hotels and restaurants have mushroomed.

He said his government was focussing on generating jobs in Amerindian communities, riverain areas and outlying regions. “The oil and gas sector is not reaching… and the services sector boom that we have seen in Georgetown and Region Four…it’s not reaching these areas as quickly as we wish,” he said.

Mr Jagdeo said the plan to diversify the economy includes a “huge incentive” of zero corporation tax on export-oriented agro-producers and producers of substitutes to imports as well as government-private sector co-investment. The push includes opening up 180,000 acres in Berbice for a major agro-industrial complex that could generate billions of dollars and large volumes of exports.

For its part, APNU wants to see the oil wealth distributed fairly to all Guyanese regardless of which political party they support. APNU MP, Nima Flue-Bess said there was imbalanced development in Guyana based on the situation in regions Five (Mahaica-West Berbice), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Ten (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice).

“We are not having balanced development across this country and I’m taking this opportunity to call the government out on this. This has not gone unnoticed by the APNU and we are demanding that economic development be more balanced across this country and not just reside in regions that you might feel are supportive of you politically,” he said.

Dr Campbell, a well-known city businessman, referred to several major projects in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), largely strongholds of Mr Jagdeo’s ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC). They include a hospitality training institute, an oil and gas training institute and a stadium.

He also appealed to the government to address the increased cost of living by tackling the under-developed agricultural and agro-processing sector. “The government needs to address that issue with urgency. There has been total failure there…The first thing we have to do is to expand production to reduce cost of living,” he said.

A major 2025 election campaign platform for APNU was a plan to increase food production in each region, lower prices and pay increased wages without fuelling inflation.

The APNU parliamentary leader also called for “careful spending” of the oil revenues due to the volatility of global prices. “There is a long term threat to oil,” he said.

Dr Campbell urged the government to spend wisely and save sufficiently for the future. “It is important that we are  prudent in how we invest those oil resources,” he added.