Christopher Ram says Guyana’s oil era is weakening oversight and democratic accountability, pointing to Parliament’s low activity and stalled institutions.
A warning about what oil can do to governance is gaining traction in Guyana, with attorney Christopher Ram arguing that the “resource curse” has taken hold.
In a column carried by Misryoum, Ram links the country’s heavy oil-driven spending and revenue to a visible retreat in institutional oversight, saying democracy and accountability are decaying rapidly.. He frames the issue as more than ordinary inefficiency, describing a pattern where public checks are losing function while executive power remains active.
Ram pointed to what he called a collapse in the routine operation of bodies meant to improve scrutiny, with particular emphasis on Parliament.. He said the 13th Parliament, elected in September 2025, has held only three business sessions in eight months, and that the level of real legislative work is far lower than in prior parliaments.
One insight matters here: when legislative calendars shrink, it becomes harder for budgets, policies, and spending decisions to face sustained debate and challenge, even if public announcements continue at pace.
The attorney argued that in a rapidly developing state like Guyana, two related phenomena can emerge alongside resource wealth: Dutch disease and the resource curse.. He suggested the former has been contained, while warning that the latter is now present, describing it as the “paradox of plenty” that can bring weaker democracy and worse development outcomes in resource-rich countries.
He said the evidence sits in the National Assembly and in what he described as a growing gap between macroeconomic stability and institutional decline.. In his view, this is most concerning because it aligns with a period when oil revenues and public expenditure are accelerating, alongside major fiscal commitments being communicated through executive channels.
Ram then shifted to the practical machinery of oversight, arguing that Parliament is not properly convened and that key committees have not been appointed as a result.. He said the Standing Orders allow for roughly a dozen committees, but none have been appointed, leaving the structures of accountability “dysfunctional” rather than merely delayed.
An insight at this stage is straightforward: committee systems are where questions, investigations, and follow-ups often happen, so stalled appointments can quickly turn oversight into something symbolic instead of effective.
Ram also raised concerns around information and audit functions, saying that the Constitutional Reform Commission has been silent and that the Office of the Auditor General faces a structural conflict due to overlapping personal relationships involving senior roles.. He further said that the Public Accounts Committee cannot meet because it has not been appointed, and therefore cannot examine years of Auditor General reports covering public spending over multiple years.
At the end, Ram’s broader point is about how such shifts take place.. He warned that where international monitoring and local professionals once pushed harder on institutional standards, attention may shift as resource-driven priorities grow, and that the change can arrive gradually until it is too late to reverse course.