-says President Ali

PRESIDENT Dr Irfaan Ali has said that the country’s ongoing development is not the result of guesswork but rather careful planning that will benefit all citizens.

The Head of State made this remark during his address to residents of Wakenaam, Essequibo Islands during the commissioning of a new school recently.

It was there that he disclosed that the government carefully plans everything to give more to the people and put more money back into their pockets while also creating new opportunities.

He assured residents that the government will fix all roads in Wakenaam before the end of 2025 as part of its development plans for the island.

Further, he revealed that the relevant teams including the Public Works Ministry and engineers have been told to get this done.

“We are not sparing resources; we are putting the resources to ensure your life gets better,” he said.

Against this backdrop, Dr Ali highlighted that investments have been made in healthcare, old age pension has increased and funds have also been invested in sea defences over the years.

Additionally, he noted that these increases and investments in infrastructure bring much benefits. These includes better schools, better healthcare and in the future, they will bring greater reliability in terms of energy and cheaper costs of energy.

Further to this, he added that the government has removed VAT on electricity and water.

Residents were told that a project will commence next year for a new water treatment plant which will cost more than $850 million to ensure that they have treated water in their homes.

President Ali added that the results of investments in infrastructure and schools among other things improve the lives of people and add value to their properties.
“These are the consequences of the investment. This is how the investments add wealth to the families and the more money you have in your pocket. What do you do? You invest it in your families; you invest it in your children,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, the Head of State said that as a result of the investments being made in technology, there will be 100 per cent trained teachers all across the country.

As a result of the GOAL scholarship programme, teachers can be right on the island and pursue degree programmes to become trained graduate teachers.

“Everything is carefully planned to give more to people; to put back more money in your pocket to create new opportunities, to create great opportunities,” President Ali said.