SOMETHING remarkable is happening in Guyana right now. It is not in the noise of oil rigs or the sight of new highways. Instead, it is in financial institutions, newly signed mortgage documents, and the pride of young Guyanese professionals parking their own cars outside their own homes.
This is the change that Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh recently discussed on the ‘Tea on the Terrace’ programme hosted by President Dr. Irfaan Ali. It deserves full recognition.
Dr. Singh spoke with satisfaction about seeing young Guyanese in their 20s and 30s taking on roles in branch management, audit management, and operations management in major financial institutions. They are not just outliers or tokens. They represent a generation stepping confidently into positions of responsibility. These changes come from consistent investment. These young professionals are also buying homes and cars, building their lives, and dreaming big in their own country. That is significant for a nation that has long sent its brightest minds to Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
President Ali also identified the foundation of this transformation. Free university education at the University of Guyana started in January 2025 and immediately benefits over 11,000 students. This was not a coincidence; it was a promise made and a promise kept. Additionally, the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) has awarded over 39,000 scholarships since 2021, nearly doubling the government’s original target of 20,000, with $12.5 billion invested in the programme so far. In 2026 alone, over 14,000 new GOAL awards were given out across the country. These are not just numbers; they represent individuals who now have qualifications they could not have dreamed of a decade ago.
But Dr. Singh provided an important reminder: do not mistake transformation for concrete development. The real change, he argued, is not measured by kilometres of new roads or square footage of new hospitals, but by the daily lives of Guyanese. A mother who used to limit clinic visits because she couldn’t afford the fees, a young man who thought university wasn’t for him, a family that rented forever because homeownership seemed impossible — these are the citizens whose lives have truly changed. That is the lasting transformation.
President Ali rightly pointed out that this change starts at birth. Newborn grants, comprehensive maternal and child healthcare, free education from nursery to postgraduate level, recreational facilities, and modern housing create a system of opportunity that previous generations of Guyanese did not have. Between 2020 and 2025, the government created over 104,000 sustainable jobs. Youth unemployment dropped sharply from 30.2 per cent to 12.1 per cent, marking a 50 per cent decline. These figures show a significant shift in the social contract.
Guyana’s economic story is often framed through oil barrels, GDP projections, and foreign investment figures. Those aspects are important, but the most crucial chapter is being written by the young Guyanese who no longer feel the need to leave for a better future. When a 28-year-old audit manager in Georgetown signs the papers for her first home and shares her journey with peers who never thought it possible, she achieves something more impactful than any policy announcement. She normalises ambition, possibility, and a sense of belonging.
There is still more to do. Integrating technology, modernising the financial sector, and expanding opportunities to all regions and communities must continue urgently. However, the path is clear, and the signs are real. A generation of young Guyanese is not just watching their country transform. They are experiencing it, leading it, and building it. This is the vision for Guyana’s future, and it gives us reason to be optimistic.
