ONCE this country gains a firm footing on its current trajectory of socioeconomic development, with Guyanese on a plateau living their daily lives as a well-developed society that garners worldwide respect and admiration, comes the next phase of Guyana’s rise — the fashioning of the nation into a technological society. Such a preparation requires three pillars: a national policy that targets the cultivation of an innovation culture across every strata of the society, including at the regional and even municipal level; nurturing a country-wide pool of thought-leaders whose job it is to research and publish and stir up professional debate, a solid national conversation, as to what kind of future works best for Guyana, especially through forums at the University of Guyana, but also across the land; and networking well with global organisations to make sure this country fits into the global village with ease and is well-aligned to the new frontier of humanity.

This 21st century is promising to push the frontier of mankind to astonishing heights, with the conquest of space and Mars and the rolling out of futuristic computing power and the development of Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, and the Internet of Things already well underway in advanced nations of the world. Countries have even announced the phasing out of fossil-fuel cars starting in 2025, as self-driving electric vehicles are positioned as the new mode of transportation.
Before one blinks, Guyana will be on the edge of this new world, ready to play a dynamic role in the grand scheme of things. Now, the Guyanese nation is in the phase of bringing its GDP and standard of living in line with the rest of the Caribbean and with the developed world, of becoming an advanced nation on the world stage.
From all indications, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government would accelerate socioeconomic development so fast with its level-headed approach to macroeconomic matters, that exponential growth will position the country to be a big player in no time at all.

The oil-and-gas sector will this year become established as a national way of life. The traditional economy is already showing positive signs of growth and development. The skills-training agenda is well underway. Everything on the local front is well set. And the country is also aligning well with the global roadmap of phased-in, net-zero emissions as the climate change agenda picks up steam across the world, with Guyana’s intention to fulfil the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and to partner with the World Economic Forum on reforming key systems and structures for a world that is fully humane, equitable, and just.

The future of the world order is shaping up to be all about technology. Developed countries worldwide are preparing for the post-COVID era, looking to technology as the way to rebuild and to scale up. And growth today happens with exponential progress, rather than with the old linear steps. Growth and development occur with lightning speed, and societies that fail to prepare for accelerated advancement would be left behind in the new world order now under construction. This world is not just drifting through history. Rather, global thought-leaders are planning what the future of mankind would be like, much like the Guyana Government plans this society in advance, mapping, designing and tweaking the blueprint for what the nation would look like in the future. Thus, the national budget is the business plan for the country, planning what 2021 would turn out to be, and how the next five years would shape up.

Despite the global pandemic, the world is actually in exciting times, with Technology Man on a serious quest to conquer some heady heights. Guyana’s place in this technology terrain is a vital requirement for the country to sustain its rise, its upward trajectory. Development is not a destination, with a set summit, that once the nation gets there it could rest and relax. As the world is seeing with the advanced nations of the world, socioeconomic development is a constantly advancing phenomenon, with the need to always push the ceiling higher, to set new, bigger goals, and to see further and further ahead as the society is lifted higher and higher in its elevation.

All this might sound a bit too much for a small country such as Guyana, as it is only now reaching the start of its amazing potential, now launching out on its journey to the top. But, as one sees with the Asian Tiger nations, and even India and China, and also with the emerging economies in Brazil, South Africa and Russia, which up to the early 1990s still existed in grotesque poverty for much of their populations, within a couple of decades a nation could ramp up its power and wealth to global standards. Such is growth these days, of exponential progress. These things Guyana would want to take into consideration even now, in its early days of this meteoric rise it has embarked upon.

To prepare for this kind of future, this technological era of Mankind which is at the doorstep of the global village, Guyana would do well to establish within the next couple of years a firm structure that fuels innovation, encourages widespread technological research, and networks with global stakeholders for a tech start-up sector that launches global digital enterprises from the home front, even from villages across the Rupununi, Berbice, Essequibo and Bartica.
Government is on that path, with high-speed Internet a major component of this year’s budget, and with sound management of the oil-and-gas fund, already securing US$200M in the Natural Resources Fund as potential capital for technological Guyana.