Guyana’s booming economy marred by brain-drain

Dear Editor,

I write with deep and critical concern regarding the latest United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, which reveals that Guyana now records one of the highest rates of intellectual flight (brain drain) in the world. This finding is profoundly troubling, especially as it comes at a time when our nation is experiencing unprecedented economic growth under the Ali administration.

Editor, while the government is touting the oil-driven boom, the UNDP report exposes a parallel crisis: our brightest minds—doctors, engineers, scientists, educators, and other professionals—are leaving in alarming numbers. They cite lack of opportunities, inadequate research infrastructure, limited professional advancement, and concerns about governance and public sector inefficiency. A “square peg in a round hole” syndrome.

Editor, an economy that fails to retain and attract its own talent is building on sand.

This Ali administration must confront a hard truth: economic growth without human capital retention is unsustainable. The very people needed to diversify the economy, strengthen public institutions, and drive innovation are departing for Canada, the United States, the UK, and elsewhere. The long-term cost—in lost tax revenue, reduced service delivery, and weakened national resilience—will far exceed short-term fiscal gains.

TARGETED REMEDIATION.

I, therefore, urge the Ali administration to consult with the Speaker of the House, Honourable Manzoor Nadir, in urgency, by calling Guyana National Assembly to order to fill the still open constitutional appointments so that taxpayers and the general public can benefit from such and the Opposition can hold the government accountable for missteps – financial or otherwise.

Thereafter take bold steps by:

1. Launch a national talent retention strategy with specific, measurable targets, including a presidential advisory council on diaspora and local talent.
2. Increase R&D funding to at least 1% of GDP, creating competitive research grants, innovation hubs, and public-private partnerships.
3. Reform public sector by engaging the various unions and craft compensation and career progression to attract and retain top professionals, especially in health, education, and engineering.
4. Create/ maintain a “return and thrive” programme offering tax incentives, startup capital, and re-integration support for Guyanese abroad.
5. Regularly publish brain drain metrics in a transparent, publicly accessible dashboard, with annual reporting to Parliament.

Editor, Guyana’s promise will not be fulfilled by oil alone. It depends on the engineers who design our infrastructure, the doctors and nurses who staff our hospitals, and the teachers who shape our next generation. Let us not build a wealthy country that no one with options wants to live in.

I call on the government, private sector, and civil society to treat this UNDP warning as a national emergency. The time for rhetoric is over; action is overdue.