Dear Editor,
GROWING up in Guyana, the Caribbean and elsewhere, one of the lessons we were taught by our parents, teachers and elders is to always tell the truth under all circumstances.

It is one of the most important lessons that is known worldwide. It is a value that should be cherished and respected by all, and President, Dr Irfaan Ali is no exception.

Since being sworn in as President on August 2, 2020, President Ali has told the nation that no matter the situation, he will always be honest and respectful not only to those who elected him to office, but to all persons regardless of race, ethnicity, or party affiliation.

Few can deny that President Ali has not been honest to the people and dedicated to the cause of improving their lives. In return for his honesty and dedication, Guyanese from coast to coast and in the diaspora have placed their trust and confidence in him to make Guyana a prosperous nation.

This is being exemplified by his style of governance, his “One Guyana Initiative” and his 1000-man programme, both of which are geared towards uniting the people, bridging the poverty gap and inspiring our youths to become law-abiding, decent and productive citizens.

However, his outreaches to the people in the rural areas of the country, especially his recent visit to Berbice where he was greeted by thousands, is a clear indication that the people believed in him and trusted him to do the right thing for them and the country.

It has become natural for citizens to trust President Ali because during his campaign for the presidency, he ran on a mainly economic platform, that cited declining growth, increased joblessness, and the high crime rate under the Granger administration.

As a result, he promised to create 50,000 new jobs over five years, provide house lots to those who needed them, construct houses for vulnerable Guyanese, rebuild the economy and increase the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and reduce crime. After two and a half years in office, President Ali is on his way to fulfilling the promises outlined in the PPP/C manifesto.

His government has already created more than 30,000 jobs, awarded more than 20,000 house lots to citizens, built more than 200 houses, reduce crime, and the country’s GDP is hovering around 35 per cent, which is perhaps the highest in the world.

In the area of housing, President Ali has promised other initiatives that are being implemented across the country to meet Guyana’s housing demand. Those are free building materials for selected categories of new homebuilders, low interest rates and long-term mortgages and low-cost housing.

President Ali has also stuck to his promise to reopen the sugar estates that were closed by the APNU+AFC government, even though they had promised not to close the estates in their 2015 campaign.

During the 2020 campaign, Dr Ali had made it abundantly clear to all and sundry that except for the Wales Estate on the West Bank of Demerara, where sugar cultivation has been discontinued, the infrastructure dismantled and lands sold, a PPP/C government will ensure that the three other estates closed by the APNU+AFC government are reopened.

And while many in APNU+AFC had criticized his plans to reopen the shuttered sugar estates as unrealistic, President Ali has once again proved them wrong. He has not shied away from the pre-election commitment to reopen sugar estates.

In fact, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha on February 1, 2023, stated that the Rose Hall estate will be reopened by the end of September this year.

On the international scene, President Ali has undeniably positioned Guyana as the leader of the Caribbean and the Global North (First World) countries in several areas, including climate change, energy, and food security.

According to His Excellency: “The government is managing the country in a way that will ensure sustainability, resilience and prosperity.”

He said: “We want to position Guyana through the leveraging of our natural assets, and through the leveraging of our natural competitive advantage, position Guyana at the front seat of all three of these areas.”

After two and a half years in office, many of President Ali’s counterparts in the Caribbean and elsewhere have respected and trusted him and have commended him for his strong leadership and dedication to climate change, energy and food security, all of which have existential economic, political, and social outcomes for all nations, especially those in the Global South (Third World).

Yours sincerely,
Dr Asquith Rose