– President Ali announces, says initiative will redesign village life
PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali has disclosed that government’s ambitious “model village” initiative will be driven primarily by the national budget, with a multi‑year financing framework intended to take the concept from an initial pilot in 23 communities to a nation-wide programme over the next five years.
Fielding questions at a recent press conference, Dr. Ali confirmed that the initiative, which aims to redesign village life around a comprehensive social and economic “ecosystem”, is not a one‑off project but a structured, budget‑financed policy.
He noted that funds have already been earmarked in the 2026 national budget as part of the first phase, and signalled that future budgets will continue to carry allocations as the programme scales up.
“We want to take this across all villages, starting with the heavily populated areas, and it will be financed from the budget,” the President said, emphasising that this is why the first 23 communities are being treated as a pilot.
Dr. Ali explained that the model village concept is intended to pull together multiple spending streams [such as] housing, community infrastructure, social services, security, recreation and wellness into a single, place‑based framework, rather than scattering resources through disconnected projects.
“It is a model village because it creates that ecosystem that brings together family, community, economy, the social aspects and considerations… to give persons living in those villages a quality of life and a sense of belonging,” he told reporters.
According to the President, the financing approach is deliberately multi‑year, recognising that the full build‑out of such an ecosystem cannot be achieved within a single budget cycle. Instead, the administration plans to sequence investments over the five‑year horizon, starting with key infrastructure and core social services, then layering in additional amenities.
These include security and safety measures, recreational facilities, and targeted support for mental health and wellness, which, Dr. Ali said, are now being treated as integral components of village development rather than optional extras.
“All of those things are incorporated into what the model village would hope. So, we are hoping that very soon we could start for the pilot, and then we’ll move on with the pilot to the other villages,” he explained.
Dr. Ali indicated that the administration would use the pilot to determine “how much we can get done in these five years”, with the clear intention of expanding the programme as more fiscal space becomes available, and as lessons are drawn from the initial rollout.
While he did not provide a total projected cost for the full national deployment, the President’s comments make clear that the model village initiative is being treated as a flagship programme, with funding anchored in the annual estimates.
The approach aligns with the government’s broader strategy of using rising national revenues, including from the oil and gas sector, to underpin long‑term social investments aimed at reshaping living standards and community life across Guyana’s most densely populated areas.
Consultations across the country on the initiative recently concluded, with residents also making meaningful contributions to proposed plans to enhance communities.
