-President Ali promises, says accelerating national development will take centre stage in a new PPP/C gov’t

PRESIDENT Dr Irfaan Ali on Tuesday announced that in the next term in office, his government will undergo major restructuring, designed to deliver on the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C) ambitious 2030 development agenda.

He made this known during a recent interview, during which he pledged that this reorganisation would begin on the first day if the party is to return to office and it will focus on the prioritising of efficiency, accountability and the removal of bureaucratic hurdles.

Further, he underscored the need for a nimble and skill-driven government to accelerate the pace of national development.

“The structure of government will change drastically. You will see a government that is very nimble, but a government that will be bringing in every level of skill that is required to achieve what we are setting ourselves by 2030. It’s a very ambitious agenda,” he said.

At the centre of this agenda, he noted is the country’s transition into higher value-added sectors.

“When you look at us wanting to move to manufacturing value creation for bauxite, moving to value creation on gold and on our forest products, creating the two Economic Zones in Berbice and Wales developments, and building out that entire manufacturing or agro-processing industrial ecosystem… it requires skills, and it requires a government where bureaucracy is removed,” he stated.

Further to this, he said that technology will play a vital role in streamlining governance and eliminating human bias from decision-making processes. “I’ll be very reliant on technology to remove human biases. We’ll be bringing in a lot of skills. The structure of government in terms of areas with different responsibilities – there definitely will be changes as to what areas of responsibility are placed, where, and how those responsibilities are going to be assigned to ensure the efficient delivery of what we want,” the President added.

Looking ahead, he highlighted one of the flagship projects of the government, the construction of Silica City, which he noted is a 10-year minimum project. However, this will be fast-tracked.

He described the approach as a shift to what he termed “projectised governance”, where resources are temporarily mobilised to achieve permanent results within a defined time framework.

“So, everything is run in a projectised manner, with time, efficiency, measurement, all critical indicators,” the Head of State pointed out.

Additionally, Dr Ali highlighted that a key element of this restructuring will be holding public servants accountable for the quality and timeliness of services delivered to the people. “People need to be held accountable for the quality of service they deliver, the efficiency in the system, and technology will help us to do that,” he affirmed.

The aggressive reorganisation plan, he disclosed, has already been drafted, with clear structures of responsibility and capacity requirements identified.
“We already have what that structure would be like and the type of capacity and capability that we need to advance this programme and this massive plan,” the President said.

He said too that the integrated infrastructure plan alone, which in normal circumstances could take two decades, will also be accelerated. “The integrated infrastructure plan alone that in normal circumstances is a 15 to 20-year programme, that we’ll try to bridge. We’re talking about one power plant, now a second power plant at Wales. We’re talking about bringing the best in data centres and data services here, attracting those types of investment,” he explained.

Further to this, he pointed to the importance of investments in tourism and agriculture, key sectors for sustained growth. “Tourism is going to be a major sector that we’re going to invest in heavily, like we’re going to do in agriculture. So, it’s going to be a high pace, high speed environment, and we will definitely be reorganising the structure of government,” he said.