Guyana has recorded a 21.4% decline in gold production since the installed PPP came to power in August 2020. Production fell from 634,905 ounces in 2019 under the APNU+AFC coalition administration to 499,054 ounces in 2021 under the installed PPP.
In recent years gold has accounted for the lion’s share of Guyana’s export earnings. Rising from 387,508 ounces under the PPP in 2014, gold production climbed to 634,905 under the APNU+AFC government. This represented a rise of 63.8% in total production under the APNU+AFC.
With gold production falling all the way back to pre-APNU+AFC government levels, concerns continue to rise that Guyana is becoming overly dependent on the emerging oil industry. The dreaded “Dutch Disease” that plagues many resource-rich nations may soon become a very real threat if efforts are not made to facilitate the recovery of Guyana’s gold mining sector.
Hundreds of thousands of Guyanese, who directly or indirectly depend on Guyana’s Gold Mining Sector to earn their living continue to see their incomes fall under the PPP as sectors that have traditionally served as the backbone of Guyana’s economy are neglected in favor of Guyana’s emerging oil industry.
