President Ali

DEEMING the Caribbean region as the “mecca” for sports and entertainment, President Dr. Irfaan Ali firmly asserted that there is a need for repositioning if the hemisphere wants to survive in the vastly changing world.

The President made these remarks while giving his feature address at the Canada-Guyana Chamber of Commerce Maple Leaf Ball and Awards presentation last Friday.
“We have to build products, country by country, island by island that position the region in the strongest and most competitive environment,” he said while underscoring that the chamber can play a key role in this.

Specifically, in Guyana, President Ali has maintained that his government intends to create an environment that will generate “the best” opportunities for Guyanese athletes to reach their greatest potential.

This statement was said during a ceremony for the Vigilance Sports Ground Enhancement Programme last year.
“I intend to create an environment in which we can achieve our greatest potential in sports and our athletes can be given the best opportunities to create history for themselves and this country. We are going to make the investments,” he said.

He noted that the government will create an academy for national athletes, where they will have “the right nutrition, the right training facility, the right environment” to take the country forward and give themselves “a great opportunity for the future”.

Furthermore, the government has prioritised sports infrastructure development by improving multiple community centre grounds.
The Vigilance Sports Ground Enhancement Programme will feature a new bridge, bleacher, restroom facilities, improved groundwork, building renovations, and the addition of four floodlights for night use. These enhancements were the result of collaboration between the Office of the President, ExxonMobil, and Cerulean Incorporated.

POTENTIAL
Meanwhile, Minister Charles Ramson Jr has stated his ministry’s initiatives are targeting the advancement of the nation and its citizens.
These remarks were made during a recent visit to Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

He said since assuming office, his ministry has been working to implement modern sports facilities and introducing new types of disciplines within the sector.
“We are spending money on our infrastructure and so as much as you understand the value, think about the productivity that comes with the infrastructure, the service you can get. So why we are building so many infrastructures? Is for the people of the country, who will get the investment and who will benefit from it,” Minister Ramson stressed.
He said the continuous investments in new infrastructure are to make Guyana a premier destination for world-class games.

“We want to invite people into our territory and we want to give them something exciting to experience, so that means we have to improve on our quality as well,” the Minister stated.
As a testimony to this, Guyana has been partaking in multiple games both regionally and internationally for the past three years.

Moreover, owing to the improved infrastructure, many regional games have been hosted in Guyana, especially at the National Track and Field Stadium at Leonora in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).
Just recently, Guyana hosted this year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) cricket, where it saw the matches being played at the National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara. (DPI)