President tells Guyanese

PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali, on Friday, told residents of Port Kaituma, Region One, to not let the messages coming out of neighbouring Venezuela regarding the ongoing controversy distract from building Guyana stronger together.
The Head of State made those remarks at an engagement with residents as part of his two-day outreach to communities along the Guyana-Venezuela border.
During his address, he assured residents of the community that officials are paying careful attention to everything that is going on and at the same time are doing everything to ensure that they are kept safe.

To this end, he affirmed that they have nothing to fear or worry about even as he indicated that the Essequibo has always been Guyana and will always be Guyana.
“The people of Essequibo are Guyanese, the development of Essequibo is completely done and up kept by Guyana,” he avowed.
President Ali said that while nothing is being taken for granted, they should not let fear overcome them in this regard, as he reassured residents that the government is working on the issue and also working on the diplomatic front to come to a resolution.
“Let us concentrate on the building our community, the building of our region, the building of our children, the building of our men and women, the building of our education sector the building of our health sector. Let no one distract us from building Guyana stronger, Guyana stronger together,” Dr. Ali said.
He said that various officers from government agencies and even ministers will be on the ground, since the enhancement of Guyana, communities and businesses, among other things must continue.

Dr. Ali indicated that they cannot allow the false narrative coming out of Venezuela to stop Guyana’s development or slow down the development.
Meanwhile, he told the residents that in the near future, they will see more activities of the armed forces in the region and this comes as he notes that the country must not be unprepared for anything.

Added to this, he disclosed that this will also be seen, since Guyana has been in deep engagement with the United States Military and as such, they will be engaged in training opportunities here.

These trainings, he said, were planned some time ago and will continue so as to ensure that Guyana is always in a state of readiness and are given the best training possible.
“We have the deepest relationship with our allies when it comes to defence and defence strategy, so I want you to be assured that we are with you 100 per cent and that is why I came here myself,” he said.

In addition to the men and women in uniform in the ground, President Ali told residents of Port Kaituma that there are a number of men and women in uniform working, making use of technology to ensure that intelligence is gathered and the safety and security of these communities are kept.
President Ali asserted: “We remain a friend and a neighbour, we remain a peaceful zone and we will do everything in our power to ensure that this region remains a region of peace, remains a region of love, remains a region of hope; this is the ambition of Guyana,” the Head of State said.