–President Ali says, outlines plan for continued wide-ranging economic growth

AS Guyana stands at the threshold of a new era, President Dr Irfaan Ali used the eve of the country’s 59th independence anniversary to deliver a powerful message of unity, purpose, and transformation, declaring that the nation’s development is being built through deliberate policy and the collective strength of its people.
“The oil beneath our seas may be the spark, but the enduring fire of our progress is the Guyanese people, all the Guyanese people, from Lethem to Linden, from Anna Regina to Bartica. Our One

Guyana vision means that every citizen will share fully and fairly in a nation’s wealth, not by chance, but by deliberate policy, not tomorrow, but now,” President, Dr Irfaan Ali.
The coming years, he said, will be marked by even greater development and harder work as officials continue to build ‘blocks of transformation.’

Delving into several aspects of the government’s plans to propel the country, the President detailed how Guyana’s infrastructure is being rapidly modernised—not only to improve domestic conditions, but also to position the country as a regional economic powerhouse.

President Ali said: “Our infrastructural transformation is beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. We are transforming our infrastructure to connect Guyana with our neighbours, to promote trade, to increase the economic space in which we operate, to expand our markets and to remove the constraints that exist within our country.”

His remarks came at a pivotal moment in Guyana’s development journey. The country boasts one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, fuelled by offshore oil production. However, his speech made clear that the administration views oil not as an endpoint, but as a catalyst for broad-based and inclusive national development.

Dr Ali said: “We are investing in this infrastructure to improve connectivity between regions and communities across Guyana. We are upgrading community infrastructure to improve the quality of life and to build household equity. These are the elements of infrastructure transformation that we are going to take forward.”

He noted too that the government is building out an energy infrastructure aimed at transforming the country’s energy landscape to ensure energy security for the long term, to improve competitiveness and to build prosperity in every home and in the lives of every citizen.

“We are advancing our agenda for cleaner and more renewable sources of power.”
He added: “We are going to continue to work to reduce the cost of electricity, so that Guyanese households and businesses can enjoy the fact that we are an energy-rich and secure country. We’re going to leverage our energy surplus to create jobs, add value to our national richness and create higher-value goods and services.”

ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
President Ali also unveiled a wide-ranging economic strategy aimed at expanding Guyana’s competitiveness beyond oil and gas, through diversification, value addition, and targeted investment.

He said: “The future also requires economic transformation, which includes economic diversification, expanding the economic base of our country, so that we can build our competitiveness. We can build our global competitiveness not only in the energy- the oil and gas- sector, but in every sector of our economy.”

From agriculture and mining to manufacturing and small-business development, President Ali emphasised that the transformation would be broad based and inclusive.
He said: “Specific measures will target every single sector. We will continue to support our traditional sectors: our rice farmers, sugar, gold, bauxite, diamond, quarrying. In all of this, we want to see greater investments so that we can add more value to our natural asset.”

The government, he said, will continue to make investments in industrial parks, and support manufacturing and energy investment.
Plans are also underway to create higher-value goods and services, and support small and medium-sized enterprises as part of the economic transformation.
Dr. Ali said: “With economic transformation, over the last four years, we have once again positioned Guyana as the number one country globally in producing our own food and expanding our own capacity to feed ourselves.”

With plans to transform the food ecosystem and the agricultural sector, there are plans to build a resilient and sustainable food ecosystem, supported by the traditional sectors with reduced input costs and enhance production and greater profitability.

The Head of State said: “We’re going to invest heavily in agriculture diversification, climate-smart agriculture, self-sufficiency in new areas through mega production systems and the creation of a regional food and marketing hub.”