Introduction
Last week’s column provided information for readers seeking a basic appreciation of the role the gold industry (Guyana’s leading mineral sub-sector), plays when assessing the pitfalls posed by its dependence on extractive industries. Today’s discussion provides similar information on the bauxite industry (the second leading sub-sector), and also aims to highlight its major pitfalls.
The belief, which drives these columns, is that Guyana is on the cusp of fundamental developments in its oil and gas sub-sector. Such developments will have profound effects on the country’s overall production possibilities, and consequently, the effective determination of what can be considered as its potential output. From my perspective, such effects could be profoundly structural, and indeed likely transformational in their scope. And, with appropriate cautions, this factor should therefore enter into contemporary assessments of Guyana’s economic outlook, forward management, and vision.
Already, close observers would have noted from media reports that there have been stepped-up public deliberations, engagements, and announcements as regards to 1) extended oversight of the
