Guyana’s rapid economic growth is not necessarily translating into greater financial security for ordinary households, according to Odessa Primus, general secretary of We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) and a Member of Parliament, who says responses to a social-media question point to mounting pressure from the cost of living.
Primus said approximately 50 people responded within an hour after she asked: “Is your salary keeping up with the cost of living?”
The overwhelming response, she said, was no.
Respondents described salaries being quickly consumed by food, rent, utilities, transportation, healthcare and the cost of educating children. Several reported living from pay cheque to pay cheque, cutting back on non-essential spending and struggling despite having two incomes in the household.
“Within just one hour of asking, ‘Is your salary keeping up with the cost of living?’, approximately 50 people responded, with the overwhelming sentiment being no,” Primus wrote in a social-media post.
She acknowledged that the exercise was not a scientific or nationally representative survey, but said the speed and consistency of the responses should not be ignored.
“While this social-media exercise is not a scientific or nationally representative survey, the speed and consistency of the responses provide an important snapshot of household sentiment,” she wrote.
For Primus, the responses raise a broader question about purchasing power—not simply how much workers earn, but how much remains after basic expenses are paid.
Her comments come as Guyana continues to experience extraordinary economic growth driven by its expanding oil industry. Commercial oil production began offshore in 2019, triggering some of the world’s fastest economic growth rates and a substantial increase in government revenues and public spending.
Primus questioned whether that transformation is being felt proportionately at the household level.
“Perhaps the bigger message is the apparent gap between Guyana’s rapid economic growth and how that prosperity is being experienced at household level,” she wrote.
She added:
“These comments do not prove that this is the experience of all Guyanese, but they raise an important question: if people are working, sometimes with two incomes in a household, yet still feel unable to comfortably meet basic expenses, how much is economic growth translating into improved purchasing power and quality of life for ordinary citizens?”
‘Survival rather than financial progress’
Primus said the responses suggest that cost-of-living pressures may extend beyond low-income households.
“People with two incomes in the household are also reporting difficulty,” she wrote. “That suggests the conversation is not only about unemployment or low wages, but about whether household income is keeping pace with expenditure.”
She said one of the most troubling patterns is that people appear focused on surviving each month rather than building financial security.
“There is little discussion about saving, investing, buying a home, travelling or building wealth. Instead, the conversation centres on getting through the month,” she wrote.
That situation, she argued, leaves families vulnerable to unexpected expenses.
“If most or all of a salary is already committed to routine expenses, a doctor’s visit, school project, repair or other unexpected expense can immediately disrupt the household budget,” Primus said.
Education also emerged repeatedly in the responses, with parents facing costs beyond school fees, including transportation, lessons, projects and examinations.
Households are also changing their spending habits, with respondents reporting that they are eating out less frequently and purchasing only necessities. Primus said reduced household consumption can eventually affect restaurants, retailers and other businesses.
The psychological cost
Primus also pointed to the emotional impact of financial pressure, with references to stress, frustration, uncertainty and struggling suggesting that the issue extends beyond household budgets.
“There is a perception that wages and prices are moving at different speeds,” Primus wrote. “Respondents do not necessarily say that they earn nothing; they are saying that what they earn does not stretch as far as they need it to.”
For Primus, the central issue is no longer simply whether people are employed or receiving higher salaries.
“The cost-of-living conversation in Guyana is no longer simply about whether people are employed or receiving higher salaries,” she wrote. “It is increasingly about purchasing power, financial resilience and whether working households have enough left after meeting basic needs to save, invest, respond to emergencies and improve their quality of life.”
The challenge for policymakers, Primus argues, is to ensure that Guyana’s economic growth is reflected not only in national statistics, but in what families can actually afford at the end of each month.
