MORE tax cuts, the creation of additional jobs, and more policies to maintain a stable investment climate and ensure continued rapid economic growth were among some of the things President, Dr. Irfaan Ali assured citizens of during his address on the eve of Guyana’s Independence Anniversary, on Sunday.

He said that Guyana is already undergoing widespread and rapid development, but there is more in store for citizens.
President underscored how crucial the transformation of Guyana’s financial sector is, noting: “Greater financial inclusion and financial independence for all is a priority of the future, so that we can increase disposable income; so that we can support the vulnerable segments of our population, including our children, women and the elderly.”

He added: “We have to transform our financial system so that we can create more business opportunities. We can deploy more capital at every level of our community, including government-backed investment, the creation of a national development fund, financial reforms that would lead to capital market reforms, banking system reforms, innovative investment instruments, and making it easier for you to own your own vehicles.”
The President noted that financial reforms will also include tax reforms to put more back into the economy, expanding economic growth, further reducing personal and corporate income tax, and of course, creating a payment system-a digital payment platform that will make doing business easier, simpler and safer for every Guyanese.

Guyana’s transformative journey cannot be done in isolation and because of this, President Ali has called on Guyanese to hold each other’s hands, and march steadfastly towards the nation’s common goal: a developed Guyana in whose bounty all must share.

“We are on the cusp of magnificent achievements. We are no longer a nation seeking development. We are a nation moving rapidly to accomplish it, and ensuring no one is left behind. From the forest of the Rupununi to the coastline of Berbice, real progress is evident. We are building schools, not just for today’s children, but for tomorrow’s thinkers, builders and leaders,” he told the mammoth crowd.
Further, Dr. Ali said that the coming years will be marked by even harder work as the continuation of building the blocks of transformation goes on.

“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 also in every sector of our economy,” President Ali said.
However, the building out of Guyana further cannot be done without human transformation.

It is within this light, that the Head of State stressed the importance of having a world-class education sector, world-class health care services and housing that meet the requirements of every Guyanese family.
“Guyana, in the future, must be an exporter of educational and health services. We must be the preferred destination for regional and international students. We must invest in medical tourism with Guyana as a preferred provider of world-class health care. We have to do all of this whilst creating opportunities for our diaspora to also participate,” he said.