Postcard from Georgetown
CRUISE ships may do for our cousins in the
C
aribbean, but the Atlantic horizon in Guyana is dotted with oil rigs.
The Yellowtail field came onstream months ahead of schedule on 8 August, part of a programme that will see capacity double to more than 1m barrels a day. That could translate to $10bn a year in royalties – not a bad contribution to GDP in a country with fewer than 1m people.
As this bonanza looms, competition ahead of elections in September is unusually fierce. Our current president Irfaan Ali is seeking a second five-year term. He leads PPP/C (People’s Progressive Party/Civic), mainly supported by people of Indo-Guyanese racial heritage. Ali hopes his cautious approach to management of the oil boom via a national wealth fund will be rewarded. Only unkind observers hint that he may also be keen to stay in office to avoid facing 19 charges of conspiracy and fraud that were withdrawn when he was first elected, as a sitting president cannot be put on trial.