Poverty, Ethnicity and Politics
in Guyana
“One people, one nation, one destiny”
Guyana National Motto (Mahabir, 284)
Guyana
• Population:698,209
• Capital:Georgetown
• Major Cities: Berbice, Linden
• Language: English
(The only English speaking country in
South America)
• Independence: May 26, 1966
• Ethnicity: Indo-Guyanese 51%,
Afro-Guyanese 43%, Amerindian
4%, European 1%, Chinese 1%
• Religion: Christian 50%, Hindu
33% , Muslim 9%, Other 8%
Regional Layout of Guyana
1
2
7
5
10
9
Population
Thousand
Area per sq
mile
Population
Density
1
18,249
7,853
2.3
2
43,139
2,392
18.0
3
95,276
1,450
65.7
4
294,493
862
341.6
5
51,274
1,610
31.8
6
141,445
13,998
10.1
7
14,682
18,229
0.8
8
5,574
7,742
.07
9
14,947
22,313
.07
10
39,271
6,595
6.0
3
4
8
Region
6
Definition of Poverty
• What is Poverty?
Inability to attain a minimal standard of living (Gafar)
• Perceptions of Poverty:
A: Poverty’s Economic Face
• Joblessness
• Underemployment
• Lack of finances to satisfy the family’s basic needs
• Inability to access loans for self-employment and job creation
through lack of collateral
• Child Labor
Perceptions of Poverty
B: Social
C: Psychological
• High levels of illiteracy
• Ignorant and/or violent
behaviour
• High levels of teenage
pregnancy and single
parenthood
• High level of substance
abuse (drugs and
alcohol)
• Large number of idle
men or women
• Lack of self-esteem
• Lack of knowledge
• Lack of motivation to
access vital
information
• Feeling of
hopelessness
• Dependency
But what is really poverty?
Poverty is ...
•
•
•
Only eating a piece of cake and having a soft drink on Christmas Day
Parents standing in line to collect used clothing and food hand-outs
Fathers/husbands leaving families for long periods while working out of the
community
• People buying substandard expired goods because they are cheap
• Being unable to send children to school
• Overcrowding in small dilapidated structures
• Frequent illness because of poor diet
• Sin, punishment, suffering, hardship
A single mother from Guyana defines poverty in these terms;
“Poverty is hunger, loneliness, nowhere to go when the day is over, deprivation,
discrimination, abuse and illiteracy.” (Gafar(a) , 61)
Characteristics of the Poor
Indicator
Population Growth Rate %
Figures
0. 23
% Population Below Poverty line
35
Child malnutrition rate (% of children under 5)
18
Infant mortality Rate ( Per 1000 live births)
38.37
Illiteracy rate( % over 15 yrs.)
2
Life Expectancy (yrs)
65
Unemployment Rate ( %)
12
Indicator (2002 est..)
Figures
% Population with access to safe water
94
Urban Population
98
Rural Population
91
Adult Literacy Rates in %
Male
Female
99
98
Primary School Enrollment (Gross %)
Male
Female
89
84
Secondary School Enrolment Ratio (Gross %)
Male
Female
73
78
Measurements of Poverty
• How is poverty measured?
•
Headcount Approach - proportion of
people living below the poverty line
(Earnings are equal or less than US$ 1 per
day)
•
Poverty Gap – measures the depth of
poverty
Head Count Index
Region
% Extreme
Poverty
1992
% Extreme
Poverty
1999
% in Poverty
1992
% in Poverty
1999
Guyana
28.7
21.3
43.2
35
Georgetown
15.8
9
28.9
16.3
Other Urban
12.3
3.7
23.1
15.4
Rural Coastal
27.9
19.6
45.2
36.7
Rural Interior
70.8
88
78.6
92.5
Poverty Gap
Region
Guyana
Georgetown
Other Urban
Rural Coastal
Rural Interior
1993 Gap
1999 Gap
16.2
8.7
6.3
14.4
46.1
12.4
5.4
3.0
11.3
44.9
Measures of Poverty by Region
Region
% of Population
Head Count
Poverty Gap
(1) Barima-Waini
3.5
78.9
45.7
(2) Pomeroon-Supenaam
6.7
55.0
23.8
(3) Essequibo Island-West Demerara
10.9
45.8
14.9
4) Demerara-Mahaica
39.8
32.0
9.6
(5) Mahaica-Berbice
7.5
56.4
18.8
6) East Berbice-Corentyne
17.0
37.2
9.7
(7) Cuyuni-Mazaruni
2.6
44.7
13.4
(8) Potaro-Siparuni
1.9
94.8
66.1
9) Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo
3.8
93.3
58.7
(10) Upper Demerara-Berbice
6.4
30.9
10.9
Measurements of Poverty by Ethnic Group
Ethnicity
Total
1993
Total
1999
Ist Q
1993
Indo-Guyanese
45.9
30.0
Afro-Guyanese
36.7
28.3
Amerindian
10.3
37.4
Mixed
6.2
4.1
Other
0.9
0.2
Ist Q
1999
Causes of Poverty
1/ Political history
2/ Economic Factors
3/ Social Aspects
“Ethnicity is a powerful instrument in these plural societies
because it can act as a measure of control, and as a symbol of
racial and cultural superiority. It can be used as a mechanism
to project and protect the interest of certain segments of the
society.” (Mahabir)
1/Political History
People’s Progressive Party(PPP)
Civic History:





The first modern political party
Forbes Burnham
First Platform: 2 Objectives
Cheddi Jagan
Women
PPP Programs
• 1953 Labors Relation Bill
• Market oriented economy
• Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
People’s National Congress
History




Split
Forbes Burnham
PNC
Focus of Party
PNC Platform
Manifesto 2001
 Major focuses
 Social reforms
 Gender issues
 Task forces
 Economic Recovery Act
Race: A Factor
• Race
• PNC - Urban Afro-Guyanese
• PPP - Indo-Guyanese
•
•
An Interesting feature of these racially and culturally heterogeneous
societies is the development and accentuation of antagonism between and
among the disparate groups, often aided and abetted by small racial elite
power (Mahabir, 285)
When political power and economic resources are up for grabs, competition
will always resolve around ethnicity. People would bound into seperate
groups on the basis of a shared history, destiny, the myth of blood or of an
imagined community. (Mahabir, 298)
2/ Economic Factors
Poverty from an economic perspective is “failure to
achieve certain minimum capabilities.” (Gafar)
3 Periods of Economic Policy
• 1966 Ind. – 1970 Rep. ‘import substitution model’
• 1970-1988 ‘cooperative socialism’
• 1988 – today ‘liberalization and market reforms’
Economic Recovery Program
1992 free elections
“ Any financial crisis results in widespread unemployment,
a loss of purchasing power by the poor, and increased
poverty.” (Gafar 68)
Economic Growth and Poverty
GDP per capita (constant 1995 US$)
950.00
GDP per capita (constant 1995 US$)
900.00
850.00
800.00
750.00
700.00
650.00
600.00
550.00
Time Period
00
20
98
19
96
19
94
19
92
19
90
19
88
19
86
19
84
19
82
19
80
19
78
19
76
19
74
19
72
19
70
19
68
19
19
66
500.00
GDP growth (annual %)
10.00
5.00
0.00
-5.00
-10.00
GDP growth (annual %)
99
19
97
19
95
19
93
19
91
19
89
19
87
19
85
19
83
19
81
19
79
19
77
19
19
75
-15.00
Trade
300
Trade (% of GDP)
275
250
225
200
175
150
125
100
99
19
96
19
93
19
90
19
87
19
84
19
81
19
78
19
75
19
72
19
69
19
19
66
75
Unsustainable Growth: Why?
Lack of Economic
Opportunities
• Agriculture
• Manufacturing
• Eco-tourism
• Poor tax system
‘Non-growth’
Infrastructure
Poor Governance
• Insecurity and lack of
adequate access to
justice
• Corruption
• Discrimination
• Insufficient attention
to decentralization
Agriculture and the Rural Poor
Importance of Agriculture
• 20% of GDP
• ½ of exports
• 27% of labor force =
280,000
• Over 90% of Guyana’s
25,000 farm households
are concentrated along
the narrow coastal plains
Rural poverty
• 66% of the rural
population lives in
poverty
• 27% small farmers
• 15% women-headed
households
• 12% Amerindians
• The rest do not own any
land
Income Inequality
3 measurements by year
1988
1993
1st Quintile % of income
7.5
5.3
2nd
11.7
7.7
ration of top 20 to bottom
40%
2.3
4.4
gini coefficient
N/A
0.42
Unemployment
• of the population: some 50.8 % of those capable
to work (15 or older) are working
• of the poorest:
• 52.9 % are working
• 12.7 % unemployed
• 34.4 % inactive
• of the poorest: 57% are involved in the infomal
sector
Foreign Debt
Projected gross external financing requirements:
US $ 1.4 billion in the next 5 years (2002-2006) or about US $ 272
million per year
The government is estimated to be able to provide for US $ 181
million, which gives an esimated gap of US $ 91 million per year.
1996
1999
2000
Foreign direct investment (US $ million)
93
48
67.1
Total debt service (US $ million)
104.1
70
74
Aid per capita (current US $)
169.5
29.68
47.84
Foreign Debt
External debt, total (DOD, current US$)
2500000000.00
2000000000.00
1500000000.00
1000000000.00
500000000.00
External debt, total (DOD, current US$)
99
19
97
19
95
19
93
19
91
19
89
19
87
19
85
19
83
19
81
19
79
19
77
19
19
75
0.00
3/ Social Aspects
“Most poverty in Guyana can be explained by inadequate access to
incomes, job opportunities, education, health care, and declining
real wages.” (Gafar)
The facts
– Lack of proper Social Programs for Education,
Health care, Water, Sanitation and Housing
– HDI (% of people not expected to live to 40, %
of people who are illiterate, % of people without
access to water and health services, and % of
moderately and severely underweight children)
– HPI (average of the deprivation in longevity,
knowledge, and a decent standard of living)
Measures
Countries
HDI
HPI
Guyana
0.708
N/A
Jamaica
0.736
12.1
Dominican
Republic
Haiti
0.718
18.3
0.338
46.2
Barbados
.84
N/A
Social Development
1990
1999
Primary School Net Enrollment
92.8
96.6
Infant mortality rate (per 1000 live births)
63.8
58
Measeles: percent of 1-year olds immunized
77
83
Maternal mortality (per 1000 live births)
N/A
190
HIV/AIDS number of reported cases
N/A
237
HIV/AIDS reported cases among women
aged 15-45
N/A
74
% population with access to safe water
N/A
92
The problems
• Women and children
• Highest among women, esp. Amerindians
• 78.8% of total income received by men
• 60% of the total labor force
• Education
• Free in Guyana
• Migration
• 8.38 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 est.)
Health
• Lige expectancy in 1998: 64 years
– expected to rise to 68 years in 2010 (without
counting HIV/AIDS)
– given the HIV/AIDS now estimated to fall to 50
years in 2010.
• It is estimated that in 1998 the HIV/AIDS
epidemic has increased child mortality rate by
100% in Guyana.
• Only 34% of the poorest have access to
preventive care
Effects of Poverty:
A Vicious Cycle
• Negatively affects foreign and local
investment
• Lowers business confidence
• Exacerbates ethnic conflicts
Poverty Aleviation
The Challenge remains how to envision a paradigm that
can foster sustainable development for both developed
and less-developed (core and peripheral) countries in the
new global economy (Pantojas-Garcia, 10)
What has been done?
• The government of Guyana
• Poverty Alleviation Program
In the Caribbean and Guyana there has been a “move away from state-directed
development strategies in favor of market-centered ones” (Pantojas-Garcia,1)
The Past 10 Yrs under PPP/ Civic:






Portable water supply
Education
Health
Unemployment rate
Poverty
Rice, Sugar, and Bauxite Production
International Assistance
• IMF /World Bank 1990 Poverty Reduction Strategy
• Broad based economic growth
• Emphasis on human capital formation
• Creation of social safety nets for the vulnerable groups
• IMF HIPC – 1999 $400 million in debt relief
• CARICOM
• USAID
• US Foreign Policy
When considering the formal democracy rating, the USAID granted assistance to a larger
percentage of education projects in the countries with the best ratings (Valverde, 5)
Poverty Reduction in Action Cont’d
Poverty Reduction in Action
• Micro lending
The Combination of this low-cost, working capital, the promotion of family
savings, and individual and group empowerment makes up the winning
formula (Kelly, 2)
• CIDA (Canadian International Development
Agency)
– Purpose
– Intention
– Guyana intervention
What should be done?
Gafar:




Develop Human Capital for the Poor
Gender Equality for Empowering Women
Short-term public works
Trade Liberalization
While Emphasis should be on promoting economic growth and economic efficiency, and on
providing quality education and maintenance of good health, it is imperative for the
Government of Guyana to design and provide safety nets for the sick, the old, the
unfortunate, the disabled, the poorest regions, and involving the poor (through
employment) in the process of economic development (Gafar, 617)
Conclusion
Food for Thought
What role has the government played in
poverty alleviation in your Caribbean
country? How successful have they been?
In the fight against poverty, what measures
do you think would be the most effective?