GEORGETOWN – The political movement VPAC is warning that oil wealth alone will not guarantee Guyana’s prosperity, arguing that discipline, long-term planning, and governance choices will ultimately determine whether the country succeeds or squanders a historic opportunity.
In a strongly worded statement, VPAC said Guyana now stands at a familiar crossroads faced by many resource-rich nations, stressing that natural resources do not shape a nation’s destiny, but how leaders choose to manage them does. The group pointed to global examples where similar oil discoveries produced dramatically different outcomes, depending on policy decisions and institutional discipline.
VPAC highlighted Norway and Nigeria as two countries that discovered oil around the same time in the 1960s but followed sharply divergent paths. Norway, the group noted, treated oil as a national inheritance rather than a political tool, establishing a sovereign wealth fund designed to benefit both current citizens and future generations. Today, that fund is valued at more than US$1.6 trillion, translating to roughly US$300,000, or about GYD$60 million, per citizen. Nigeria, by contrast, struggled with short-term spending, weak governance, and political misuse of oil revenues, resulting in missed opportunities for long-term development.
The statement also pointed to Singapore as an even starker example. Despite having no oil, gold, or natural resources, Singapore built two sovereign wealth funds now worth more than a trillion US dollars combined. According to VPAC, that success came from deliberate investments in people, institutions, and strategic industries such as aviation, logistics, technology, and pharmaceuticals, rather than reliance on raw resource extraction.
VPAC further referenced the United Arab Emirates, which recognized early that oil revenues would not last forever and used them to build global airlines, major infrastructure, international business hubs, and diversified economic power. The group argued that these countries succeeded not because of oil, but because they made disciplined choices about how oil money should be transformed into lasting national assets.
Turning to Guyana, VPAC said the country’s oil discovery is not, by itself, an achievement. Instead, the real test lies in how revenues are managed, invested, and protected from short-term political pressures. The group warned that history has already shown what happens when governments prioritize immediate political gain over long-term national interest.
According to VPAC, the central question now facing Guyana is whether oil revenues will be used to finance short-term politics or to build a future that genuinely belongs to every Guyanese, including generations yet to be born. The movement urged policymakers and citizens alike to study the lessons offered by countries that have successfully converted resource wealth into sustainable prosperity.
VPAC concluded by calling for careful choices and national discipline, arguing that oil can be a powerful tool for development, but only if guided by strong institutions, transparent governance, and a clear commitment to long-term national well-being rather than political convenience.
