Guyana will not fall victim of ‘resources curse’ – Greenidge

Guyana must not become dependent on the oil sector and should, therefore, use revenues from the industry should be used to diversify the economy, Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge said.

He was at the time speaking at the launch of the Guyana Oil and Gas Association last evening at the Marriott.

Greenidge added that exploiting Guyana’s newfound oil resource must be balanced against environmental responsibilities and climate change, noting that Guyana is a signatory to several initiatives to protect the environment and guard against climate change, Guyana must not become dependent on the oil sector.

“I believe that the greatest promise lies in ensuring that the resources are used for enabling us to diversify our economy, diversify the human resource skills and capacities that we have so this remains to us a primary target in developing the resource to make sure that exploitation of the resource goes hand in hand with the enhancement of the quality of the human resources,” Greenidge explained.

Minister Greenidge noted that, in developing the oil and gas sector, the government must ensure that it does not fall into the “resource curse” like neighbouring Venezuela.

“It is our intention to make sure that resources are used in a manner that will enable us to diversify across a significant spectrum of activities from industrial activities, oil-related activities as well as services, and this I think is the defence we have against the so-called resource curse,” Greenidge pointed out.

The Minister added that careful attention to issues of governance, transparency, and participation by national and foreign elements in the economy will also be an area of emphasis in the development of the sector.