NO one in their right mind can ignore the fact that there is today a much higher level of economic and social prosperity in Guyana. This is manifested in a variety of ways such as rising income levels and improved access to goods and services.

More people are today the owners of their own homes and vehicles which is one, although not the only, indicator of prosperity. There are the other qualitative indicators as well such the number of Guyanese who have access to university and tertiary education, better access to healthcare, freedom of speech and by no means least, the right to freely elect a government.

The fact that Guyana is now an oil economy has certainly created new opportunities for the prosperity index of the country to go up. The PPP/C Government is now in a position to do more of the things it wanted to do but was constrained by way of limited financial resources. This 2022 Budget is intended to do exactly that, namely to enhance the social and physical infrastructure of the country to allow for a better quality of life.

We are still lagging behind several countries in the region in terms of per capita income and several other indicators including longevity rates and access to basic services such as quality of healthcare and education. But that gap is now closing, thanks to the people-oriented policies and programmes of the PPP/C administration since it took power in October 1992. The country took a while to recover from the 28 years of economic devastation under PNC authoritarian rule but that trend of economic and social decline has now been reversed and the country is now fully on the road to economic recovery.

There are some who try to compare Guyana with the United States in terms of living standards and quality of life. And while such comparisons as to quality of life do contain a lot of subjectivity, it is also unfair to compare Guyana with the more developed countries for several reasons. Among these are the colonial and neo-colonial status of countries such as Guyana which stunted their growth potential for several decades and in the case of Guyana an undemocratic and authoritarian regime which was foisted on the backs of the Guyanese by foreign vested interests and which perpetuated its life in government for nearly three decades by way of rigged elections.

All of that is now water under the bridge and there is today a restoration of hope and optimism that the dark days of undemocratic rule are behind us and a new era of prosperity is about to dawn. The mood of the country has changed especially after the unsuccessful attempt by the APNU+AFC to subvert the democratic will of the Guyanese people at the March 2020 polls. That day will be remembered with shame as the Granger administration attempted to repeat what the PNC under Forbes Burnham and Desmond Hoyte did to the electorate — trampled on their democratic rights and reduce a once proud country to pariah status.

This 2022 Budget seeks in fundamental ways to correct some of the past injustices inflicted on the psyche of the nation by way of democratic renewal and consolidating the economic and social gains made by the PPP/C administration over the years.

The APNU+AFC apparently has no credible answer to the developments currently underway other than by theatrics and resorting to what it knows best — putting an ethnic spin to convey the false impression that the developments are skewed in favour of one particular ethnic group.

Nothing could be further from the truth. One only has to look at the distribution of house lots, employment practices in the public service, scholarships and access to social services to establish the fact that the PPP/C administration is colour-blind when it comes to being even-handed in its dealings with the Guyanese people.

President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has repeatedly said that he intends to be a President for all Guyanese, regardless of ethnicity or political affiliation. His ‘One Guyana’ initiative is intended to weave the diverse ethnic and cultural strands into a united and harmonious Guyana family. This is indeed an act of political nobility which can only enrich the lives of all Guyanese.

The time is now for us to leave the past behind and begin a new era of national unity and shared prosperity along the visionary thinking of President Ali.