WHEN the PPP/C assumed office in 1992, Guyana was bankrupted in the national exchequer and international goodwill, especially that of the International Funding Agencies (IFES), because despite a continuum of massive financial and other assistance by global funding agencies, our nation had been reduced to a state of devastation and impoverishment by the ruling elite, to the extent where this country ranked only second to Haiti – the poorest nation in the hemisphere.

Today we have moved so far ahead that persons have forgotten the state of penury then prevailing in our nation, with all the major industries in a state of severe retraction.

President Cheddi Jagan and his Junior Finance Minister, Bharrat Jagdeo, went into overdrive, lobbying at the various relevant fora for either debt-reduction or outright write-offs.

The ardent sincerity of first President Jagan and subsequently President Jagdeo won hearts and assent to debt-reductions/write-offs worldwide so that this country could finally breathe, albeit still in a constricted manner.

Slowly but surely – oftentimes very painfully, Guyana emerged out of its fiscal abyss to the extant dynamics where the macro-economic fundamentals of our country have been stabilised and mobilised on an upward path.

Current President of the PPP/C administration, His Excellency Bharrat Jagdeo, has taken the charge of his mentors, Dr and Mrs. Jagan, very seriously and his commitment to endeavour for the Guyanese nation knows no boundaries and recognises no parameters. He transcends any traditional limitations to achieve what could justifiably be termed superlative success in national developmental imperatives – given this nation’s history and constraints.

Over and above his interactions with the international stakeholders to promote global, regional, and national security and development is his interrelation with his grassroots people.

Despite the detractors constantly attempting to derail the trust of the people in their President, it is evident that their efforts are not fruitful, and wherever the President goes his sincere caring for the welfare of his people is paramount, and the Guyanese people react positively to this, with the odd and rare exception.

One community that the President is especially interested in is the farming fraternity, because the nation’s food security rests on their shoulders, and he keeps abreast, through his intermediaries, of developments within the industry, periodically making personal assessments to gauge the level of national operational capacity for food-production initiatives and the correlating dynamics that may require his personal intervention to sustain the feasibility and viability of the sector.

One such instance was last Sunday, when the President and a team of specialists and stakeholders visited several farming communities in the Mahaica/Mahaicony area.

No-one knows the issue of climate change and its impacts like the President of Guyana, and his concern over the potential for damage to crops and livestock of farmers, with the consequential related social and financial fallout, was manifest as he expressed his views that farmers need to diversify in order that their income-generation activities should not be totally reliant on the weather.

He encouraged farmers to see diversification as a long-term solution to their survival during the hard times and promised help in various forms to enable the pursuit of alternative income-generation activities by farmers.

Agreeing to a little boy’s request for the development of a sports ground, with the suggestion that a sports club be formed, indicates that the President is amenable to finding solutions to meet the needs of every strata of society – barring no divides, not even that of age.

As the President leads his Cabinet on outreach programmes countrywide, the people of this nation need not be afraid to approach the Head of the nation, because he is a caring President who is prepared to walk that extra mile – literally and figuratively, to ensure the welfare of his people.