𝐀𝐈, 𝐎𝐢𝐥 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐚

𝗚𝘂𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹—𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁
Billions in oil revenues are flowing into state coffers at an unprecedented pace. Yet, for all this wealth, the structural realities remain deeply troubling: youth unemployment is persistently high, public healthcare and education systems are uneven at best, and procurement controversies continue to shadow major projects.
The uncomfortable truth is this—economic expansion is not translating into broad-based empowerment.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀, 𝗚𝘂𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

𝗢𝗶𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀.
Today, the government is increasingly financed not by the productive output of its people, but by resource rents generated offshore. This matters. When a state does not depend on its citizens for revenue, it has fewer incentives to be transparent, efficient, or accountable. Taxation historically forced negotiation. Oil revenues bypass it.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝘂𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗮? 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗔𝗻𝗱, 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻, 𝗼𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆.
The Natural Resource Fund, heralded as a mechanism for safeguarding national wealth, remains a point of contention, with repeated concerns about withdrawals, oversight, and political control. Major infrastructure contracts continue to raise questions about transparency and value for money. Meanwhile, citizens—whose patrimony is being extracted at scale—are largely spectators to decisions that will define their economic future.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁.
As artificial intelligence and automation reduce the need for human labor across sectors, the economic relevance of the average worker will decline further. In Guyana, where oil already dominates and diversification remains more rhetorical than real, this could entrench a model where wealth is generated with minimal participation from the population.
𝗔 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀—𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀—𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗔𝗜-𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁? 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵.
This is how accountability erodes—not through the removal of elections, but through the quiet stripping of their economic meaning.
A population that is not central to production has less leverage. A government that does not need broad-based taxation feels less pressure to justify its decisions. And a political system awash in rents can sustain inefficiency, patronage, and selective development far longer than a tax-dependent one ever could.

𝗚𝘂𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀.
Despite record revenues, there is no commensurate urgency in transforming education to prepare citizens for a technologically disrupted future. No clear national strategy to ensure that AI and digital transformation create opportunities rather than deepen exclusion. No robust, independent enforcement architecture that consistently reassures citizens that public funds are being managed with integrity.

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻: 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸—𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗺𝘀.
If left unchecked, Guyana could become a country where wealth expands on paper while citizen power contracts in reality. A nation rich in resources, but poor in accountability. A democracy in form, but increasingly hollow in function.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.
Reversing course will require more than policy tweaks. It demands a fundamental shift in governance: enforceable transparency in the Natural Resource Fund, truly independent procurement oversight, aggressive investment in human capital, and a clear framework to ensure that emerging technologies serve the many—not the few.

𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰.
And if Guyana fails to confront this moment with honesty and urgency, we may soon discover that the greatest risk of our oil wealth—and our AI future—is not that it leaves us behind, but that it leaves most of us out.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 592 𝙂𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣-𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 , 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮,𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙄𝙣𝙂𝙪𝙮𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨.