President Ali is on a mission to modernise Guyana

Oct 18, 2023 Letters

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Dear Editor,

In just three short years, President Ali has proved that he is an influential and dexterous leader and his leadership skills have been recognized not only at home and in the diaspora or in the Caribbean, but in Latin America and throughout the world.

By now, it should be obvious to everyone that His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali is committed to building a new and prosperous Guyana so that all Guyanese can prosper and live a happy and comfortable life. Predicting that he will be re-elected in 2025, an exuberant President Dr. Ali promised to work tirelessly over the next seven years to make sure that by 2030 and beyond, Guyana will become digitized, its gross domestic product (GDP) will be among the highest in the world, and its economy will be sustainable, resilient, competitive, and diversified. He urged the people to end their petty grievances and worn-out dogmas of the past that for far too long have hampered the political system, disadvantaged, and weakened the resolve of the people, and stifled the development of the country. He pleaded with Guyanese at home and in the diaspora to mend their differences and support his government in its efforts to modernize the country and make it a better place where every can have a bright future and live in harmony.

President Dr. Ali is confident that in the next few years Guyana will bolster its position as a world leader on the international stage on some very important and significant issues such as climate security, energy security, food security, fair trade, and human rights, among others. According to the president, the government will invest heavily in infrastructure, agriculture, education, health care, tourism, especially eco-tourism, but most importantly in human development and social services with the aim of changing the attitude, culture, and behaviour of the people.

Faced with a huge backlog of over 5,500 passport applications from persons at home and in the diaspora, President Dr. Irfaan Ali did something no other president had done. He announced via social media that officials in the passport office will work twenty-four hour shifts to end the enormous backlog in seven days. This is not the first major problem that His Excellency has solved since taking office. After constant complaints from several residents that the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) has been extremely slow in processing their applications for them to receive their benefits, President Ali instructed the NIS to establish a special Secretariat to handle the more than 10,000 queries and resolve them by the end of the year. It shows that the President understands these ongoing issues and problems that are frustrating the working class and is not afraid of the challenge to solve them. In fact, he grabs at every opportunity to meet and greet the people in the various villages and districts and resolve their problems, regardless of their status, ethnicity or party affiliation.

Regionally, as the Head of State, President Dr. Ali continues to lead CARICOM’s campaign to increase agriculture production and reduce its food import bill by 25 percent by 2025 as well as Guyana’s drive to become a global leader in food production and security. He asserted that Guyana is an extraordinary strong partner in expanding its agricultural food systems to meet the goals of food security in the region and beyond. His advocacy and leadership in food and energy security, agricultural transformation, and for building resilient and sustainable economies in Guyana and the Caribbean, coupled with his unwavering commitment and support for regional integration, gender equality and respect for sovereignty and the rule of law all of which are central to the IICA’s work, earned him the prestigious Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture award (IICA) at the Inter-American Conference in Costa Rica. Presented to him by the President of Costa Rica, Mr. Rodrigo Chaves Robles, President Ali is the first Head-of-State to receive this esteemed award from the institute, which provides cooperation services through close and permanent work with its 34 Member States in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

In expressing gratitude to the IICA for the award, President Dr. Irfaan Ali stated that Guyana will work with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture to develop and establish a technological food hub for the entire region to ensure adequate food supply for the people. The Head of State affirmed that his government is positioning Guyana to become a major destination for eco-tourism, and he will collaborate with the President of Costa Rica to help develop eco-tourism as a product in Guyana. Both leaders have agreed to cooperate on issues of the forests, environment, climate change, and energy and food security for the region.

It should be clear to all Guyanese far and wide that under President Dr. Ali’s leadership, Guyana is destined to become a country known for innovation not only in the production of food or the oil and gas sector, but it will acquire the best technology in the 21^st century. We should all be proud of his commitment to make Guyana a prosperous country.

Sincerely,

Asquith Rose

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• Asquith Rose, dexterous, Dr. Irfaan Ali, Guyana, His Excellency

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