THE President Dr. Irfaan Ali-led PPP/C administration has already been successful in fulfilling several of its campaign promises made in the run-up to the March 2, 2020 General and Regional elections. Quite a few have already been completed, some at varying stages of implementation, and others in the pipeline for completion within stipulated deadlines. And all of this in just a year of its assumption to office.

These developments are all the more significant, given the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, the recent floods, and by no means least, a less than supportive political opposition that apparently is still unable to come to terms with its defeat at the last General and Regional elections.

Manifesto promises are important evaluation tools used by the electorate to hold elected governments accountable. In this regard, the current PPP/C administration has not been found wanting. From all indications, the administration has fulfilled, and in some cases surpassed, several of its campaign promises, which speaks well of the President and his entire Cabinet.

Both the current COVID-19 pandemic and the recent floods have demonstrated the true character of the PPP/C Government, which has always adopted a pro-people and a pro-poor development approach to governance. The COVID-19 ‘Because We Care’ cash grant to parents and guardians of children attending public schools; the COVID-19 cash grant to all households along the length and breadth of Guyana; the elimination of Value-Added taxes on water and electricity, and a host of other items; and increases in Old Age pension are only some of the interventions that have been made to make life easier for people, especially the more vulnerable in our society. Billions of dollars have already been spent on cushioning the effects of the harsh economic situations in which Guyanese have found themselves as a consequence of the floods and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Job creation and human resource development ranked high on the PPP/C’s Manifesto promises, and, so far, much progress has been made in having those promised realised. The Manifesto speaks to providing Online learning opportunities for at least 20,000 students, a realisable target given the fact that several thousands of Online courses have already been completed, and thousands more are in progress.

Even more important are the long-term measures put in place to ensure secure and sustainable livelihoods, especially in the context of the existential threats posed by increasing levels of global warming. The most recent report on climate change by the United Nations has painted a grim picture of the potential danger posed to humanity, unless significant improvement is made in terms of reductions in carbon-emissions, especially by the industrialised world. Indeed, the report can be seen as a wake-up call to global policymakers that it cannot be business as usual, when it comes to climate change initiatives. The report details how humans have altered the environment at an unprecedented pace, and warns that the world risks increasingly catastrophic effects, unless there are rapid reductions in greenhouse emissions. A ‘code red’ for humanity is how the UN Report describes the current situation.

It is in the above context that the decision was taken by President Ali to construct three major channels in Regions Three, Five and Six. The Hope Canal has already demonstrated that such outfalls can go a long way in mitigating the adverse effects of heavy rainfall, and in that regard has demonstrated the perspicacity of the PPP/C administration to construct the canal, which has paid significant dividends as the recent floods in the country has indicated.

The massive eight-door Hope/Dochfour Canal built by the PPP/C administration prior to demitting office in 2025 was heavily criticised by the then political opposition. Many Guyanese, especially those living in Region Four, are today in high praise of the canal, and attribute the mitigation of flood in Region Four to that project. The memory of the 2005 flood in Region Four still lingers in the minds of residents, and many credit the construction of the Hope/Dochfour canal as the main factor responsible for the rapid drainage of water which, otherwise, could have resulted in severe floods and damage to crops and livestock.

Meanwhile, wildfires are continuing to create havoc in some parts of the United States and Europe, an indication of extreme weather patterns experienced in different parts of the world, as a consequence of climate change.

The people-oriented and pro-poor approach taken by President Ali and his PPP/C administration has certainly brought much relief to Guyanese right across the political and ethnic spectrum. This is indeed a defining element of a caring administration, hard at work and full of energy for, and on behalf of, the Guyanese people.