IN a ‘Letter to the Editor’ entitled, “President Ali is on a mission to modernise Guyana” in the October 15, 2023 edition of this newspaper, Asquith Rose posited: “By now, it should be obvious to everyone that [His Excellency, the Executive President of the Republic] Dr Irfaan Ali is committed to building a new and prosperous Guyana so that all Guyanese can prosper and live a happy and comfortable life.”

Confidently predicting he’ll be re-elected in 2025 on the basis of his PPP/Civic administration’s performance during the current term, President Ali was also quoted as having already promised “to work tirelessly, over the next seven years,” to ensure that by 2030 (and beyond), “Guyana will become digitised, its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be among the highest in the world, and its economy will be sustainable, resilient, competitive and diversified.”
The President has called on Guyanese, at home and abroad, to “end petty grievances and worn-out dogmas that for far-too-long have hampered the political system, disadvantaged and weakened the resolve of the people and stifled the development of the country.”

He’s called too, for support for his government’s efforts “to modernise the country and make it a better place where every citizen can have a bright future and live in harmony.”
The President is confident that, in the next few years, “Guyana will bolster its position as a world leader on the international stage, on issues like climate security, energy security, food security, fair trade, and human rights, among others…”

Guyana, he promised, “will invest heavily in infrastructure, agriculture, education, health care, tourism, especially eco-tourism, but most importantly in human development and social services with the aim of changing the attitude, culture, and behaviour of the people…”
This President has clearly demonstrated he’s unafraid of using his executive powers wisely to cut red-tape and bureaucracy in the public services to solve every day people’s problems.
Take Rose’s references to his recent decision to eliminate the huge backlog of over 5,500 passport applications by directing that the Passport Office work 24-hour shifts to end the enormous backlog in seven days.

Likewise, his instruction to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to establish a special secretariat to handle the more than 10,000 outstanding queries by pensioners and other contributors and to resolve them by the end of the year.

President Ali continues to lead CARICOM’s campaign to increase agriculture production and reduce the region’s food import bill by 25 percent by 2025, as well as Guyana’s drive to become a global leader in food production and security.
The President recently revealed that Guyana will work with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to develop and establish a technological food hub for the entire region to ensure adequate food supply for the people.
As Rose’s letter pointed out, “Guyana is destined to become a country known for innovation not only in the production of food or the oil and gas sector, but it will acquire the best technology in the 21st century.”

If previous administrations were unwilling, or willing but unable, this one is both willing and able to continue forging-ahead with Guyana’s development, fueled by its new resources and husbanded by a careful, caring and forward-looking government.
President Dr Ali has demonstrated his government can and will continue to deliver on old and new promises to continue developing and modernising Guyana – which is why the ruling PPP/Civic alliance so handsomely won the last two national and mid-term electoral polls, leaving the opposition alliance in such national disarray that it’s spinning itself giddy and out of sensible control.