Global Balance, Local Betrayal: The Evidence They Can’t Applaud

Dear Editor

President Irfaan Ali went to Houston and sold the world a story about.

“𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲”

𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗹 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱.  𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀

𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.  

𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.

𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲. 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 .𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗱.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝘂𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗮.

Because while the President speaks fluently about global imbalance, he remains conspicuously silent on the most glaring imbalance of all—the one unfolding under his own administration.

Nearly 60% of Guyanese citizens are living in poverty or hovering dangerously close to it—a figure grounded in multidimensional assessments and cost-of-living realities that continue to outpace wage growth. At the same time, Guyana has recorded one of the fastest GDP growth rates in the world, driven almost entirely by oil production.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.

You cannot lecture the international community about fairness while presiding over an economy where oil revenues have exceeded billions of US dollars annually, yet public transparency on how those funds tangibly improve household conditions remains limited and inconsistent.

The Natural Resource Fund continues to accumulate and disburse billions, but the link between withdrawals and measurable improvements in health care delivery, education quality, wage growth, and cost-of-living relief is, at best, uneven—and at worst, obscured.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.

The cost of basic food items has climbed steadily over the past three years. Food  and fuel-linked expenses remain volatile despite promises of relief through the gas-to-energy project—a project that has itself faced cost escalations and timeline concerns.

Public sector wages, though adjusted, continue to lag behind inflationary pressures. Meanwhile, large-scale infrastructure contracts—often awarded at significant cost—proceed with limited public scrutiny, raising persistent concerns about procurement transparency and value for money.

𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲?

You cannot speak of “distribution gaps” globally while ignoring the widening economic divide locally—where luxury developments expand, vehicle imports surge among the affluent, and visible wealth concentrates along a narrow corridor of beneficiaries.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵.

𝗚𝘂𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗲𝘇𝗲.

The President proudly declared that Guyana is using its hydrocarbon wealth to “finance the future.” But the evidence suggests that the future is being financed unevenly.

𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱, 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗲:

𝗔 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀.  

𝗔 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀.  

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗡𝗥𝗙 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴.  

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀.

Instead, what we see is a country where macroeconomic success coexists with microeconomic strain.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲.

What makes this moment particularly jarring is the moral framing he chose. This was not a technical address—it was a lecture on fairness, responsibility, and global justice.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱—𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱.

And right now, the data, the lived experiences of citizens, and the visible disparities across the country do not support the narrative being exported to the world.

𝗚𝘂𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀. 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀.

So when President Ali says the world needs balance, he is right.

But until that balance is visible in the lives of ordinary Guyanese—until oil wealth translates into broad-based, measurable prosperity—those words will continue to collapse under the weight of local reality.

𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Sincerely

Hemdutt Kumar