Hundreds of Guyanese turned out in Queens Village, New York, on Thursday evening as President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali called on the diaspora to reconnect with home, invest in Guyana and become partners in the country’s next phase of transformation.
The president made the appeal during a Presidential Meet and Greet at the Jericho Palace Banquet Hall, where he outlined the scale of development taking place across Guyana and the opportunities emerging in a rapidly expanding economy.
“Guyana is not the same as you knew it. Guyana is punching in every ring. We’re in every conversation. And we are preparing our economy and our country for the second phase of transformation,” the head of state said.
He pointed to 160,000 new jobs, more than 50,000 households, over 5,000 kilometres of new roads, more than 100 new schools and extensions to more than 160 existing schools as part of the development achieved over the past five years.
He also cited the removal of 200 taxes and expanded social support as measures implemented alongside the country’s economic expansion.
Looking ahead, he outlined a far-reaching development agenda involving a deep-water port, new power generation, the Wales Economic Development Zone, data centres, additional port facilities, hotels, hospitals, airport expansion, a fertiliser plant and a gas bottling facility.
“We have to deliver a diversified economy. We have to deliver by 2030 an economy that is exporting food from Guyana, exporting gas, becoming a net producer of energy.”
President Ali said the country’s scale of expansion demands greater investment in people, skills and technology, while ensuring Guyana remains open to international expertise and capital.
He pointed to free tertiary education opportunities, thousands of scholarships and expanded teacher training as investments intended to equip Guyanese to participate in the emerging economy.
He noted developments in healthcare, including specialised cardiac surgery for children at no cost to families, as well as plans for a modern oncology centre of excellence and a women and maternal hospital.
Energy remains a major component of the development agenda, with the president acknowledging the need to modernise the national electricity system as demand rises alongside economic activity.
The head of state said government is also targeting the construction of 40,000 homes over the next four years, while advancing social housing solutions for vulnerable families.
The president announced plans to modernise the delivery of public services through digital platforms and introduce a national payment system to make transactions more accessible to citizens at home and abroad.
“We have to adopt what is best and bring it into the country. We don’t have the time to work in a straight line.”
President Ali encouraged Guyanese living overseas to remain connected to the homeland and take advantage of investment opportunities emerging across the economy.
He said a special investment vehicle will soon be launched to mobilise diaspora resources for projects including the planned fertiliser and gas bottling plants.
“Patriotism is not a seasonal case. Loving your country is not seasonal. Loving your country is being a citizen for all the seasons.”
He said the scale of the national agenda leaves little room for complacency, with major projects already underway and further investments required to support Guyana’s transformation. [DPI]
Source: INews Guyana
