PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali’s recent call to “stay the course” at the launch of Orinduik Marine Services represents more than advice to the populace; it embodies a strategic vision that could define Guyana’s economic trajectory for generations.

His repeated insistence that “We are not only creating jobs; we are creating the future” is an indication that the government is aware that the nation’s current oil boom, while revolutionary in nature, must serve as a foundation for diversified long-term prosperity, and not a crutch for short-term prosperity.

President Ali’s assertion that “Guyana is not blessed with oil alone; it is blessed with talent, with potential, with purpose, with vision” reflects an old-time vision of national development.
The country’s remarkable economic growth—a 47 per cent average real GDP growth rate for the world’s highest between 2022 and 2024—is aligned with the fiscal space that is needed for strategic human capital and infrastructure investment.

Projects like the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL), which has yielded over 2,000 professionals, with 70 per cent being female, prove that it is possible to invest oil revenues in building skilled manpower for economic diversification.
President Ali’s timing of his maritime focus as well is particularly prescient, since Guyana’s crude oil production will top more than 900,000 barrels per day in 2025, and be the world’s largest per capita crude oil producer.
That historic source of revenue presents a unique window of opportunity to invest in sectors like maritime services that can create sustainable employment, and make Guyana a regional maritime hub.
The President’s vision of prosperity achieved “in every ship steered safely to our shores, in every youth educated in new marine systems, in every business plugged into the supply chain” is a tangible path from extracting natural resources to economic transformation.
But unless this maritime renaissance is fueled by political stability and policy continuity that President Ali proclaims with his “stay the course” message, it will not be realised.
As Guyana gears up towards its September 2025 general elections, the citizens must realise that this process of strategic diversification is a path that requires sustained effort beyond electoral cycles.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic emphasis on delivery, speed, and change is not electioneering rhetoric; it is the sense of urgency required to grasp this moment of opportunity in history.
Guyana is standing at a crossroads where the convergence of oil fortunes, strategic planning, and oceanic potential can act as a model for long-term prosperity.