Annexes - European Commission - Europa

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ANNEX 4 COUNTRY OVERVIEW General Background Guyana, located at the point where the Caribbean meets South America on its North Atlantic seaboard, is historically and culturally a part of the Caribbean region. Georgetown hosts the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Guyana is a country with a small population 751,000 ( (2002 census) living in a large area of 214 969 km 2 . With a per capita income of+/- 850 USD, Guyana is also one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean and the Western Hemisphere. Ethnic 9 %, others and mixed 17%. Guyana has three distinct geographical areas: the coastal zone, the tropical forest zone, and the savannahs, in the south. Close to 90 % of the population lives and works in the coastal plain, an area around 10 000 km 2 , roughly 5% of the country's total land mass. Over 80% of GDP, including the entire agricultural production and the vast majority of all non-mining industrial activities are concentrated in this area, which is located below sea level, and needs constant protection from the sea. Guyana's economy is based on exporting bauxite, sugar, rice, and more recently gold and forestry products. In spite of some acute ethnic polarisation problems, the overall political situation of the country had been improving at a satisfactory rate until recently. GDP fluctuated from - 0.7% in 2003 to + 1.6 % in 2004 and to - 2.5% in 2005, the latter figure relating to the floods in January 2005 (source EIU). In November 2000, the IMF and the World Bank approved the Interim Poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) and agreed to support a comprehensive debt reduction package for Guyana under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC). This deal will save Guyana about USD 590 Million in debt service over the coming years. Among the requirements for the release of the funds are the completion of a PRSP and the implementation of a set of social and public sector reforms and the maintenance of financial stability. In October 2002, the IMF agreed to a credit of USD 73 million under the PRSP. In December 2003, IMF and World Bank agreed that Guyana has reached the completion point under the enhanced HIPC. Debt relief under the enhanced HIPC amounts to USD 334.5. This comes in addition to the USD 256.4 that Guyana received when it reached the completion point under the original HIPC framework in May 1999. The HDI continued to drop from 104 in 2004 to 107 in 2005. Political situation Guyana's political scene is dominated by two main parties, the People's Progressive Party (PPP) and the Peoples National Congress (PNC). Each represents one of the two main ethnicities of the country, the PPP electorate being mostly indo-Guyanese and the PNC's mainly afro-Guyanese. After 28 years of undemocratic rule, the first internationally recognised fair and free elections took place in 1992 and Dr Cheddi Jagan (PPP) was elected President. The following general elections were held in December 1997 and were once again won by the PPP. The elections of March 2001 which returned the government of President Jagdeo and the PPP/C to power were considered by most observers to have been fair and open. But as it was the case after the 1997 elections which were also won by the PPP, civil disturbances erupted 17
again after the election. Progress in the political reconciliation process has been slow and the process as a whole is still rather unstable. Currently government and opposition are not on real speaking terms. The country is gearing up for the next elections on 28 August 2006. Concerning the human rights situation freedom of press and opinion are respected. However, the police force has been criticised locally and internationally (Amnesty International) for alleged extra-judicial killings. Regional framework Guyana is among others, a member of the UN, ACP, ACS, CARICOM and CARIFORUM. The Headquarters of the Caribbean Community, Caricom, is in Georgetown and a new Caricom headquarters at Liliendaal was opened in February 2005. The Caribbean Forum of ACP States, Cariforum is headquartered in Georgetown. Relations with Brazil are quite good and occasionally common regional projects are put forward. Relations with Venezuela maintaining a significant territorial claim on Guyana are improving. A Guyana-Suriname border dispute re-ignited in 2000, following exploratory drilling for oil off the coast of the disputed area. Guyana in February 2004 referred their long-standing maritime boundary dispute with Suriname to the United Nations for a legally binding resolution under article 287 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The legal representatives of the two governments met at the end of May 2004 to continue their discussions about the arbitration panel to adjudicate the maritime boundary dispute. A final ruling is expected in 2006. Relations with the EU The UK is the only EU Member State with a permanent representation in Guyana and the EU Delegation and the British High <strong>Commission</strong> have contacts on a regular basis. Guyana is highly dependent on trade because of its small economic base. The major exports are sugar, rice, gold and bauxite. The pattern of Guyana's trade has changed very little in recent years. The country's main trading partner remains the United States (22% of exports and 25% of imports), the EU - mainly the United Kingdom - (30% of exports and 19 % of imports) and Canada (24% of exports and negligible imports). Guyana is a high cost producer of both sugar and rice. Both these commodities have enjoyed preferential access to the lucrative EC market through special Lome/Cotonou protocols. However, these preferences will change by 2009, and already from 2006 the Everything but Arms initiative will allow free access to EC for sugar and rice originating from least developed countries, thus creating competition for Guyanese exports. To facilitate the transition funds have been allocated from the EDF for the rice sector under the CARICOM Rice Project. (EUR 24 million for Guyana, Suriname and regional). Country Strategy Top of page The objectives of the EC assistance program to Guyana are the reduction of poverty and the promotion of sustainable development. The two areas of concentration proposed for the 9 th EDF are: • Infrastructure: Sea Defences and coastal management and 18
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