ABSTRACT
Although privatization as a concept is relatively novel in the political lexicon of Guyana it is not entirely unknown. What is relatively new to Guyana is the systematic divestment of publicly-owned enterprises as a matter of deliberate policy. Divestment has not been pursued in this South American republic as part of an ideological commitment to the ‘magic’ of the market, but in recognition of the effectiveness of marketization, notwithstanding its handicaps. One of the reflections of this non-ideological embrace is that the term ‘privatization’, with its wider political connotations, has been eschewed by the government in favour of the more neutral term, ‘divestment’. And yet in spite of this, Guyana has since 1988 implemented what is probably the most extensive privatization programme in the Caribbean.
