Even as the country mourns the passing of five of its finest servicemen, and threats to its sovereignty and territorial integrity by the Maduro administration, the country continues to accelerate the pace of economic development aimed at an overall improvement in the quality of life of the citizens of Guyana.

This people-centred approach to development is manifested in manifold ways, not least of which is putting more money in the pockets of Guyanese workers through enhanced salaries and cash grants, including that of the more vulnerable segments of the Guyanese people such as pensioners and those living with disabilities.

Only recently, Senior Minister of Finance within the Office of the President, Dr. Ashni Singh, announced an across-the-board salary increase for public servants of 6.5% with an additional one-month tax-free bonus for the disciplined services. The salary increases will be granted retroactively from January 1, 2023.

According to Minister Singh, the salary adjustments will benefit over 54,000 persons and will place an additional $7.5 billion dollars in disposable income in the pockets of public sector employees.

These salary adjustments come on the heels of another recent announcement by President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali of a one-off $25,000 bonus payable in December 2023 to all public servants and old-age pensioners. Persons living with disabilities will benefit from a cash grant of $35,000. These grants will benefit over 72,000 pensioners and another 19,000 who are registered on the public assistance register.

These are substantial sums of money that will go directly in the pockets of public servants, pensioners and the differently-abled especially as the festive season of Christmas and the New Year approaches. It will certainly allow for a higher level of consumer spending at a time of the year when the propensity to spend is more pronounced.

One direct consequence of such increases is what economists refer to as the ‘multiplier effect’ on the economy. Greater consumer spending has an accelerator effect on the broader economy which is now at an advanced stage of take-off as the economy soars to a much higher levels of growth and resilience.

These increases are all the more significant in an environment of price stability and low inflation rates which translates to higher disposable earnings. Put differently, the increases are not simply money increases but are tantamount to real increases. Guyanese workers are all too familiar with the time under the PNC regime when salary increases were devoured by the monster of double-digit inflation.

Because of sound macro-economic policies and fiscal discipline exercised by the current PPP/C administration, inflation rates are kept below the rate of salary increases. This allows for real increases and a bigger basket of consumer goods and services. All of this translates into a higher standard of living for the Guyanese people.

President Ali has repeatedly said that his administration is pro-people. The upward adjustments to salaries of public sector employees and the vulnerable groups in our society is a clear manifestation of this policy orientation of the PPP/C administration.

Guyana’s spending on social sector development such as housing, education and health services are also indicative of this people-oriented approach to development especially against the backdrop of enhanced revenue flows from oil.

Apart from spending on extensive infrastructural development projects, billions of dollars are also being spent on social programmes. As pointed out by Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, there is increased spending on social programmes such as education cash grants, school uniforms, government’s part-time employment project and cash grants for the elderly and disadvantaged groups in our society.

The PPP/C administration must be commended for the menu of measures it has taken to ensure that the patrimony of the state is shared in a manner that is beneficial to all Guyanese, in keeping with its philosophy of people-centred development.