Dear Editor,
SINCE becoming the Ninth Executive President of Guyana two and a half years ago, President Dr Irfaan Ali has done it all. And many have stated that he is the right and most suitable person for the job because as president, he has maintained peace and law and order in the country, provide jobs and house lots for thousands, awarded contracts to the most qualified contractors, regardless of race, ethnicity, religious background or party affiliation. In this short span, President Ali has visited almost every district, village and town to meet with the residents, Indo, Afro and native Guyanese to discuss and solve their problems. Based on his massive achievements in such a short period, he is considered one of the most gifted, practical and astute leaders in the country’s 57 years since independence.

He is an original and sagacious thinker who has provided hope to the hopeless, improved the lives of the poor, comforted those during their time of sadness, pain or hurt, encouraged and motivate those with potential for a bright future, instilled confidence in the depressed or disheartened and has persuaded troubled youths to turn away from criminal activities and become good and productive citizens.

Simply put, he has made it clear to all and sundry that the country is progressing economically at a rapid pace and that everyone will share in the prosperity. This is at the core of his “One Guyana Initiative” in which everyone can participate and make it successful. It is true that President Ali’s “One Guyana Initiative is a first for the country; but it is not a gamble, a past-time thought or a promise that will not be fulfilled, it is a serious and meaningful undertaking to heal the racial divide in the country, to put aside decades of hatred, bigotry and xenophobia and to live in peace and harmony with respect for one another. Most importantly, it is to unite the people and build a prosperous Guyana.

It is also a profound task for the serious-minded to come together to resolve their differences and/or conflicts and to live together and consummate our motto—One people, One nation, One Destiny. After all, we are first and foremost Guyanese and our brothers and sisters’ keepers. This biblical reference which is derived from the book of Genesis, is generally understood to mean that we should care about the well-being of each other and not only about our own. This should be our purpose in life and represent who we are and why we should support the “One Guyana Initiative.” So we are calling on everyone to cast away their disputes, disagreements and biases and heed President Ali’s call to unite the races, uplift and improve the lives of the poor and downtrodden, build a prosperous nation and put Guyana first at all times. And while many have attempted and failed in their quest to unite the races, we are confident that President Ali’s “one Guyana Initiative” will succeed, mainly because of its profound, rational and widespread appeal.

Locally, President Ali has set Guyana on a sound economic path that will not only yield benefits to the people, especially the poor, but his ultimate objective is to reduce or end poverty and improve education and health care, among others, in the country and to make Guyana the bread basket of the Caribbean, as it once used to be before its independence in 1966. On the international scene, President Ali, in his address to the Global South Summit last week, proposed a new global food system aimed at reducing hunger among the poor in developing countries. With agriculture being at the core of his plan, Dr. Ali has called for greater investments in agricultural production and improved agricultural technology in developing countries, an end to the biased trade agreements that benefit the rich and powerful countries such as the United States, Canada and Britain among others, and more serious efforts to combat climate change that has hamstrung the economies and well-being of the peoples in the developing countries. He has judiciously underscored Guyana’s steadfast support in several areas, including food security, climate preservation, fair and balanced trade policies, and respect for the freedom and rights of all people to live in dignity in the pursuit of their prosperity and happiness.

Sincerely,
Dr Asquith Rose