Investments geared towards economic expansion – President Ali
Some of the data that President Ali shared during the live broadcast to support his comments (Source: President Ali/Facebook)
Some of the data that President Ali shared during the live broadcast to support his comments (Source: President Ali/Facebook)

-restored investment climate instils confidence in private sector

 

PRESIDENT Dr Irfaan Ali has said that his government’s policies, programmes and investments are all aimed at economic expansion and have further reinvigorated the local private sector, with expansion visible in almost every sector.

The Head of State made these remarks during a live broadcast during which he discussed the investments and jobs created over the past four years.

 

“Jobs and investment are critical for the expansion of the private sector, for a healthy economy, for a sustainable economy, and it’s a litmus test in relation to government’s policies and programmes and investment,” he said.

He added that these policies and programmes must lead to economic expansion and lead to confidence in the economy.

Examining the impacts of his administration’s policies and programmes from 2020 to 2024, President Ali noted that there are various comparative advantages in the region and his government prides itself in developing strategies that carry very low operational costs among other things.

Against this backdrop, he said that one of the indicators of confidence in the economy and how the private sector perceives the economy, one must look at private sector credit.

Providing figures comparing the previous APNU+AFC tenure in government to the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C) term, he noted that under the previous administration, there was very low confidence in the policies of the government.

Pointing to the comparative graph, Dr Ali highlighted that a flat period can be seen in relation to private sector growth and private sector credit and very flat investment or credit to the private sector.

“The period of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government, you can see every year continual expansion on private sector, credit, confidence in the economy, confidence to invest and as a result, credit to the private sector increased by more than 60 per cent from June 2020 to June 2024,” he expressed.

This growth, he explained, is more than three times the growth seen during the entire APNU+AFC period.

President Ali further detailed that what occurred during that period was a crowding out of the private sector as the former administration was just borrowing with no plan for improving productivity or increasing opportunities for the private sector.

During this time, he added that domestic credit to the central government increased from $28 billion in 2014 to some $148 billion.

He added, “And that is what collapsed our economy in the past; the same philosophy of the APNU+AFC government… borrowing, borrowing, borrowing and not creating wealth. So, the government borrowing during that period in government increased by 428 per cent.”

Credit to the government was some 16 times higher than credit to the private sector and as a result, the private sector was regressing with tens of thousands of persons losing their jobs and further contributing to a loss of productivity and loss of competitiveness.

DIVERSIFICATION APPROACH

However, over the last four years, President Ali said that one would see the diversification programme and policies of the government and how they are taking effect.

Giving examples by sectors, President Ali noted that in agriculture private investment went from $12.5 billion to $24.6 billion from 2020 to mid-2024.

“That is the investment we’re making in D&I, the investment we are making in farm-to-market access roads, the support to our farmers, the confidence that has been instilled back in the agricultural sector,” he said.

In manufacturing, he said that private-sector investment increased by 47 per cent from $15.1 billion to $22.3 billion, creating wealth, and new industries while expanding existing industries and creating jobs.

In construction, President Ali said there was a 93 per cent increase in private sector investment moving from $10.6 billion in 2020 to some $24.4 billion by mid-2024.

“That is the confidence people have in building their own facilities, their own commercial buildings, their own office complexes, their own home,” he said.

FDI, THE JOB MARKET, HOUSING BOOM

Meanwhile, turning to foreign direct investment, he noted that the story is the same as this too increased significantly over the last four years.

“Between 2021 and 2023, FDI amounted to $16.1 billion, more than three times the level reported under the APNU+AFC government for the entire period,” he said.

President Ali noted that in 2023, there were inflows of US$7.198 billion, a 64 per cent increase over 2022, which positioned Guyana as the sixth-largest inward FDI recipient country in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Moving on to the job market, Dr Ali highlighted that in 2020 his government promised 50,000 jobs and further looking at the sustained jobs and not those just temporary, this target was surpassed.

He said: “I am talking about sustained jobs in every single sector; we have surpassed the target of 50,000 jobs and we have been able to sustain more than 60,000 jobs.”

The construction sector he said, brought in more than 30,000 jobs, the forestry sector brought in more than 11,000 and oil and gas more than 6,500, while tourism has brought in more than 8,700 jobs and other sectors that have brought in thousands more.

Further to this, the government is also investing in tens of thousands more jobs with the training of persons in tourism, nursing and several other fields.

Shifting the focus to the housing sector, President Ali indicated that the housing sector has been re-energised, with more than 244 billion invested and over 41,000 houselots allocated among several other initiatives.

Tax incentives he said, with the mortgage relief ceiling increasing from $15 million to $30 million have put back more than $2.4 billion into the pockets of the ordinary people.
Additionally, he indicated that almost 2,000 homes have been completed under the young professionals housing programme, giving young people not only homeownership, but dignity and pride in the communities they are living in.

Further, 1,500 more homes are in the process of completion by the end of the first quarter of this year.

“That is what we’re delivering every single day to the people of our country,” he said.

The Head of State further spoke to the success of policies implemented in the health, infrastructure and education sectors which have spawned significant investments across the country and provided more opportunities for citizens.

As such, he expressed, “So you see my friends our investment is geared towards economic expansion, towards wealth creation, towards job generation, towards the expansion of the private sectors and towards building a strong, resilient Guyana, a Guyana that is democratic, strong and resilient and a Guyana that brings prosperity to every single home.”

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