Canada confirms support for sovereignty

October 20, 20230

President Dr Irfaan Ali held bilateral discussions with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa on the sidelines of the inaugural Canada-Caricom Summit.

“Discussions focused on Canada’s support for the development of Guyana’s oil and gas sector, the two countries shared values and approaches to climate resilience, food security, investments, and agriculture.” PM Trudeau further confirmed Canada’s support for Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity amid rising tension with Venezuela.

The President was among the group of 15 Caricom leaders attending high-level engagements at the summit, held under the theme “Strategic Partners for a Resilient Future”. A Canada-Caricom Strategic Partnership Agreement was launched to strengthen collaboration and cooperation on mutually agreed sectors. At the closing press conference, Prime Minister Trudeau committed to fighting climate change, crime and vaccine equity in the region and consequently pledged almost $90 million in foreign aid for the region.

Climate was a central focus at the Ottawa summit. Discussions included protecting the environment to benefit economies.

“Clean, reliable, affordable energy is a great example of how climate action and economic growth can and must go together,” Trudeau said.

He announced that Canada would spend some $58.5 million on the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to support renewable energy projects in the region, and another $6 million through the Caribbean Climate Smart Fund (CCSF) for resilient and renewable energy systems.

Haiti was a top-priority area for hemispheric leaders. Trudeau pledged another 3.4 million of previously approved funds to address firearms violence in Haiti, as well as support the Haitian National Police (HNP) armory and armorers.

He disclosed that Canada would invest $3.2 million in the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, to curb firearms trafficking and proliferation and deepen coordination between the Canadian Armed Forces and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, for rapid delivery of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. He committed an additional $18.3 million from Canada’s Global Initiative for Vaccine Equity to strengthen health and immunisation systems and improve equitable access to vaccination in Haiti.

These pledges were made during the first day of the summit. On the second day, Trudeau convened a trade and investment roundtable that included Canadian investors to deepen business ties and create new opportunities for workers. They discussed ways to diversify trade and expand investment in key sectors, like financial services, resilient infrastructure, clean tech, information and communications technologies, and natural resources management.

 

 

 

Guyana and Canada create STREAM jobs

October 21, 2023

Opening the Agri Investment Forum & Expo , President Irfaan Ali announced that Guyana and Canada will partner to create 3,000 innovative jobs here especially for the younger generation as he pushed the importance of science and technology in developing agriculture.

“We are going to launch a programme where we want to have at least 3,000 of our young people in these innovative jobs in the coming years and Canada and Guyana will partner in developing the framework to provide the training to have our young people in these innovative jobs in the technological field.”

The goal is to position Guyana as a global leader on climate change, food security and energy security through Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Agriculture and Medicine.

 

 

 

IFAD invests in hinterland for rural development, social innovation

 October 21, 2023

Mabaruma Settlement’s Golden Laced Poultry Group built a chicken pen with support of HESAD project, funded by IFAD.

UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is contributing to rural development and social innovation in the Guyana hinterland.  Through an ongoing long-term project, the UN Fund is improving lives and livelihoods in rural communities by supporting activities that generate income, improve nutrition, and help small-scale farmers to adapt to climate change.

Extreme weather, including floods and drought, which destroy crops affect the food security of a country where cassava is a staple of Amerindian diet. Overall, access to a healthy diet has become more expensive and surpasses average costs in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Corn, yam and sweet potato are nutritious substitutes for toxic cassava, easier to grow, harvest, prepare and digest. Tropical fruits including mango, guava, pineapple and banana are rich in nutrients and can benefit from over a century of research at UWI.

Maija Peltola, IFAD’s Country Director in Guyana, told the Agri-Investment Forum and Expo, to promote investment in agriculture and food production, as Guyana aims to reduce its reliance on food imports. In a time of rapidly changing dietary habits, “Guyana has the opportunity to boost local production and strengthen food security, rather than depending on imported industrialised products. Amerindian produce has a high nutritional value, and by investing in these villages we are building a more resilient and inclusive food system for the future.”

Peltola referred to the progress made by an IFAD-funded project, executed by the Ministry of Agriculture of Guyana. Since 2017, the Hinterland Environmentally Sustainable Agricultural Development Project (HESAD) has financed more than 300 initiatives, including supporting people to develop business plans, promoting public investments in rural infrastructure and implementing training programmes.

“Around 30,000 Amerindians are experiencing positive outcomes from project services, half of them are women and a third are youth.”

Through an innovative participatory approach, communities identify business needs and opportunities in coordination with facilitators from the Ministry of Agriculture. Some business plans are related to small-scale poultry farms and cattle rearing, crop production, and agro-processing. They also include bakeries, eco-tourism initiatives and community-managed grocery shops, in an effort to diversify and increase incomes of rural families. The first 50 businesses launched have generated US$340,000 in income, supporting rural communities.

IFAD has financed the construction of small-scale rural infrastructure such as roads, bridges and docks, which have contributed to improve transportation for agricultural products, and strengthened community resilience. Many supported communities have chosen to refurbish or improve their school kitchen to provide a hot meal to children.

HESAD is also championing innovative approaches to gender equality, youth inclusion and nutrition behaviour change, combining formal training with creative methods like street theatre and radio serials. This approach not only benefits Amerindian communities but also contributes to a culture of innovation within the Ministry of Agriculture.

Through IFAD’s global portfolio and expertise, the Government of Guyana can tap into the latest practices in climate-smart farming, nature-based solutions, and the use of digital tools. Through South-South cooperation, the project has the opportunity to access knowledge and best practices from similar environments, like neighbouring Brazil.

IFAD has been working alongside the Government of Guyana since 1986, financing four projects with a total budget of US$40 million.

 

 

Revised request for proposals for Amaila Falls project

October 13, 2023

The government, as promised, reinvited Requests for Proposals (RFP) under a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model, to advance development of the Amalia Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP).

Documents state the project will integrate and expand Guyana Power and Light’s national grid capacity to include Linden, Region 10.

Interested parties MUST submit one proposal based on a BOOT model, which includes the construction of a hydro dam, transmission lines from Amaila to Linden plus sub-stations at the Amalia site as well as upgrades and completion of roads and bridges to the site. The hydro may be re-engineered to take account of changes in turbine technology thus allowing more than 165 MW to be generated and transmitted.Responses to this RFP will be conducted in three stages:

Stage 1: Pre-Qualification of Parties capable of undertaking each of the above (hydro and transmission lines/substations. Pre-qualifications will be conducted on a rolling basis, following which pre-qualified candidates will be allowed access to the data room

Stage 2: Pre-qualified parties will be asked to provide feedback on the preliminary project structure and project documents. This response will be used to revise the initial project structure and project documents to issue the final RFP by January 31, 2024.

Stage 3: Formal RFP submissions based on the final Project Structure and Contractual documents- -due 45 days after issuance of the final Project

Deadline for submission of pre-qualifications is November 28, 2023. Additional details of the project are found in the daily newspaper where the RFPs are published by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The AFHP – a brainchild of the previous PPP/C administration has been a dream since 2011. However, opposition parties with majority seats in 2014, barred the project from becoming a reality.

The PPP/C outlined the resuscitation of the project in its 2020 manifesto. In 2021, the cabinet granted a no-objection for the Prime Minister’s Office to engage the China Railway Group Limited to construct the hydro. However, discussions ended in a deadlock when the company wanted to change the model.

The company was unable to secure the necessary financing for the BOOT model, thus the request to change the contract to an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model. Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo made it clear that the government was not keen on the EPC since the BOOT model will allow the administration to assume low risk.

He has since revealed that foreign investors from Brazil, Korea, Canada and the United States have signalled interest in advancing the development of the project.

The Amaila Falls project plays an important role in the government’s plan to create an energy mix to address the increase in electricity demand while phasing out dependency on fossil fuels.

The hydropower project coupled with the 300 megawatts (MW) Gas-to-Energy Project and the solar power project, are expected to cut electricity costs by 50 per cent, bringing benefits for citizens and businesses .

 

 

 

Ring-fencing oil projects could risk future revenue

Oct 15, 2023

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo now believes future revenue could be jeopardised by ring-fencing.

‘Ring-fencing’ simply means that each project would pay for itself, thereby allowing for greater profits to be split when development is paid off. According to the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) Guyana signed with ExxonMobil and partners, Hess Corporation and CNOOC, 75 percent of the monthly revenue will be deducted to cover costs, while the remaining 25 percent will be split equally (50/50) between the parties to the contract. In this manner, a ring-fencing provision would have allowed Guyana to benefit from half of the revenue generated in a project, after the expenses are repaid.

Without this provision, the oil companies are allowed to give Guyana meager profits while they take the lion’s share to develop other oil projects in the Stabroek Block. Recognizing the significance of such a major gap in the contract, Jagdeo as leader of the Opposition, prior to August 2020 was fuming when he addressed the former government’s incompetence for failing to ring-fence the two oil projects it had approved.

“They sold us out to the foreigners. The oil companies, every time there is a find out there, our people should be sad because nothing comes our way. We are gonna renegotiate those contracts because that’s not what we had in mind. “When we were in the early days, we were coaxing the people [ExxonMobil] to go along. They [Coalition] came into office – three billion barrels of proven reserves and they gave up zero royalties, no taxes, no ring-fencing.”

A few years later, he now believes that ring-fencing the oil projects in the Stabroek Block could possibly leave the country with nothing to gain in the future.

“Thinking in policy making is much more complex, it’s never a linear way- oh ring-fencing can save all the money in the world; ring-fencing could lead now too to us having nothing in the future. “We admitted that we are foregoing revenue now in exchange for massive future income because its going into new projects that will increase production and so even with the same share of the 50/50 plus the two percent royalty that the future income, because of the bigger scale will be massive in Guyana’s case and we are deliberately foregoing that in this period for that purpose and then trying to grab this bone now could cause you to lose all the bones, the bigger bones too in the future.”

While Jagdeo fears Guyana not being able to gain revenue in the future from the sector due to a ring-fencing provision, industry experts urged inclusion of such a provision to ensure early returns from the sector.

In three separate reports dated 2017, 2019 and 2019, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated: “This asymmetrical treatment of profit and cost oil will benefit the contractor at the expense of delaying government revenue.”

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), along with another international expert, Chatham House and the World Bank advised Guyana to include a ring-fencing provision for each project.

In one report on Guyana Director of Financial Analysis for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), Tom Sanzillo. estimated that Guyana should receive upward of $6 billion annually by 2028 or sooner, however, due to all of the new costs, Guyana will be shortchanged until the 2030’s, if not longer.

Last year, the Stabroek Block generated US$9.8 billion but Guyana received US$1.4 billion in profits and royalty, while Exxon took US$7.4 billion to recoup their investments across the Stabroek Block. Sanzillo noted, “The lack of contract protections means that every time Guyana announces it has received more revenue it is actually being shortchanged…the country may never see the promised annual revenues in the billions of dollars.”

Another major factor that can affect the country in the future, as anticipated by the VP, is declining oil prices. Government in its Half-Year Report indicated that the country is likely to earn lower revenue from the industry this year than earlier projected, due to declining oil prices on the global market triggered by a slide in demand for supplies.

Petroleum deposits for the year are now projected to total US$1,629.3 million, compared with US$1,631.7 million projected at the beginning of the year. This means that the country will receive US$2.4 million less than anticipated or approximately GYD$480M.

Plummeting oil price on the global market can be dangerous for newcomer to the sector, Guyana, especially as oil major ExxonMobil continues to pump billions of US-dollars to develop the resources discovered in the Stabroek block. The country can easily find itself unable to repay investments or enjoy profits from the industry should this trend extend.

 

 

 

A brighter future under PPP/C rule

 October 8, 2023

OCTOBER 5, 1992 marked the day that democracy was restored to Guyana; the advent of free and fair elections in post-Independence Guyana. On that day, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) ended the 28-year-long stranglehold the People’s National Congress (PNC) had on the country, by winning 53.5% of the votes cast, which at the time equated to 28 of the 53 seats in the National Assembly, and providing in the process the platform for them to win five successive governments.

As Attorney-General and Senior Counsel Anil Nandlall recalled, with the absence of freedom and the feeling of being stifled by economic hardships, Guyana was a dim place to live in under the undemocratic rule that prevailed before 1992.

“As a young man, I didn’t see a future [and] for every young person.”

He told a special programme to commemorate the return of democracy in 1992, when the PPP was voted into office, without the fight for freedom, Guyana would have been ostracised like it was prior to 1992.

“By 1992, we were completely bankrupt; Guyana, by that time, had become a basket case. We were the second poorest country in the world in this hemisphere; the medical system had collapsed, the infrastructural system had collapsed, the educational system had collapsed.”

Describing the period as “miserable and dismal”, another PPP/C executive member and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Gail Teixeira, recalled the extreme levels of poverty, and the abnormal health conditions that plagued children.

While addressing the collapse of key sectors and the inheritance of a crumbling economy, she stated: “…When you look at 1992, I was the Minister of Health and I showed in Parliament, the theatres and the public hospital that had broken equipment…you can imagine what was going on with operation [and the] infections.”

As she relived the dark era, she spoke extensively on the rapid migration in Guyana at that time because of the economic constraints.

“…People were really punishing and [they] were also migrating because they were looking for anywhere to go…Looking back, it was dark.”

With the PPP/C continuously fighting to restore the rule of law, it is now sunny skies and beaming smiles.

“…It is colours and progress and you know, the differences are so stark and so palpable,” she related.

Urging Guyanese not to dismiss the threats to democracy that occurred in 2020, Teixeira said: “The whole entire architecture of Guyana has been constructed and developed [by] the PPP/C government and [it] has been undermined in the 2015-2020 period when they [APNU+AFC] were in government.”

With a democratic country being defined as a system of government in which the people have the power to participate in decision-making, Teixeira emphasized that democracy must always be safeguarded not just by the PPP/C but by all Guyanese, regardless of race, political affiliation or any other difference.

Teixeira also mentioned the 2020 General and Regional Elections, where Guyana almost suffered the same fate prior to 1992 – a period of rigged elections.

Snap elections were held in 2020 after the government of President David Granger lost a vote of no confidence by a margin of 33–32 on 21 December, 2018.Although Election Day and the initial count were deemed to be free, fair and credible, the process of tabulating the votes was widely seen to have been fraudulent. Leaders had later agreed to a recount of ballots, which was completed in June of that year. The recount showed that the PPP/C party won the most votes, with a bare majority of one seat.

However, representatives of the then government had sought to thwart the results of the recount through a number of court cases. Despite this, the Court of Appeal ruled that the results of the recount be utilised as the official results of the election. And six months later, Dr Irfaan Ali was sworn in as the 10th President of Guyana.

Further reflecting on the struggles Guyana faced, Clement Rohee, then Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister, explained that Guyana was riddled with foreign debt and these were categorized.

“The government worked very hard to address and seek debt relief respective to bilateral debt, the multilateral debts, however, an extremely important type because this is where the multilateral lending agency would have lent money to the government.”

In subsequent years, under the PPP stewardship, Guyana moved from a low-income country drowning in debt to a country on the rise, with one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios in the world.

 

 

 

ICCR

Oct 17, 2023

Director General of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Shri Kumar Tuhin paid an official visit, his first to Guyana from October 14-16, 2023. Tuhin was welcomed with a grand event- ANANTA, to mark the onset of Navratri and meet ICCR Alumni. The event was attended by Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag, Mayor of Georgetown, His Worship Alfred Mentore, Director of Youth, Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sport, Suresh Singh, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Indian Diaspora Community and the ICCR, ITEC Alumni.

Tuhin interacted with government officials and paid his respects to Mahatma Gandhi at the Promenade Gardens, Georgetown, where he was joined by the Mayor and officials of the High Commission of India and Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre.

This was followed by a tree planting in the compound of SVCC and a meeting with past and current teachers of Indian Culture.  At University of Guyana, Turkeyen Campus he met Vice-Chancellor Prof Paloma Mohammed Martin. He met Ministers Parag in her office and Dr. Persaud at the Dharmic Sanskritik Kendra. He discussed ongoing bilateral cooperation between the two countries to further strengthen and diversify our partnership in the field of education, culture along with people to people ties.

He was accompanied by Mr. Mukesh Kaushik & Director of the SVCC, Mr. Rudra Jayanta Bhagwati. He visited Berbice with the Indian High Commissioner, CdA Mr. Mukesh Kaushik and Mr. Rudra Jayanti and team. His first stop was the Arrival Monument at Palmyra, New Amsterdam and then to University of Guyana, Berbice where he was greeted by and interacted with Director of Campus, Dr. Gomathinayagam Subramanian, faculty staff and students of the University, prominent members of diaspora and ICCR alumni. He gifted books to the India Corner of the library.

Later at SVCC he observed the first night of Navratri celebrations held by High Commission of India and Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC) in collaboration with Ambe Ma Indian Community, he offered his prayers and joined ceremonies with devotees.   Celebrations and performances will continue for nine days ending on 23rd October. On 16th October, he met Charles Ramson Jr, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport. He visited the High Commission of India before departing Georgetown to end his tour . The events served as an opportunity to review current cooperation and find ways to further strengthen and diversify bilateral partnership between India and Guyana.

 

 

 

US$90M IDB loan for education

Oct 19, 2023

Guyana Government borrowed another US$90M from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which will contribute to human capital development .The loan approved by the IDB Board of Executive Directors is designed to expand access to safe and improved learning environments and enhance educational services for vulnerable students , the IDB said .   The bank said this is the first individual operation of a conditional credit line for investment projects (CCLIP) valued at US$150 million. This first project supports the foundation for transforming Guyana’s education sector by improving the quality of the service and addressing regional differences in the delivery of education in the country.

In particular, the loan approved seeks to modernise the physical infrastructure of Guyana’s schools, a key driver for improving attendance rates, motivating teachers, and elevating learning outcomes, the IDB said. This operation includes the construction of six new primary schools and upgrade of 19 schools in Hinterlands regions (1, 7, 8 and 9) by improving physical and digital facilities to meet 21st-century standards. This includes providing essential services, such as electricity, water, connectivity and digital devices.

Recognising the critical role of quality teaching in developing 21st-century skills, and the main determinant for student learning and skill development, the programme places emphasis on the continuous professional development of teachers to improve teaching of 21st-century-skills and child-centered pedagogies.

In addition, the programme will strengthen the Ministry of Education’s capacity to deliver improved educational services to vulnerable students and those with special education needs and disabilities (SEND). This includes developing a language policy that will guide interventions for indigenous students in the future and an inclusive education policy.

The project will benefit 8,809 primary education students and their respective communities through its interventions. The newly constructed schools will provide 2,610 new primary education spaces. At least 7,341 students and 352 teachers from grades 2-6 will receive digital devices to support their teaching and learning. The US$90 million IDB loan has a grace period of 5,5 years, an amortization period of 25 years, and an interest rate based on SOFR.

Guyana’s debt to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is close to US$1 billion currently. The aforementioned sum does not include the interest the country will be paying on the loans.

The bank’s Annual Report 2022: Financial Statements revealed that as of December 31, 2022, Guyana owed the bank US$787 million. Adding the US$205 million in loans Guyana recently signed off on , brings the total loans borrowed from the bank to US$992 million. It was disclosed in the bank’s 2022 financial statement that Guyana borrowed US$335 million from the IDB in 2022.

The loans from the IDB fall under the sovereign guarantee portfolio. Prior to 2018, the document stated that Guyana borrowed US$552 million from the IDB. Guyana’s credit rating with the bank is B-. The loans Guyana took were for projects and programmes such as: healthcare network strengthening, a programme to support climate resilient road infrastructure development, ‘Enhancing the National Quality Infrastructure for Competitiveness’ Reformulation and Additional Financing program and the program to Strengthen Public Policy and Fiscal Management in Response to the Health and Economic Crisis Caused by COVID-19.

Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, during his 2023 budget speech disclosed that total public debt stood at US$3.6 billion, an increase by 16.9 percent from last year. Government has been borrowing to finance almost all of its recently announced public infrastructural projects while earning over US$1 billion in the oil account last year.

In January, the IDB released a report cautioning Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries against ‘excessive’ borrowing and urged governments to bring their debts down to more prudent levels.

In its report titled, ‘Dealing with Debt – Less Risk for More Growth in the Latin America and the Caribbean’ the IDB disclosed that debt has risen and stands at some US$5.8 trillion which is 117 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the region. “Given the dangers of excessive debt, the current situation in Latin America and the Caribbean is worrisome,” the IDB said.

IDB said public debt serves a critical role for countries to pursue public investment projects, implement counter cyclical policies, and provide support to economies in the face of negative shocks.

However, the IDB warned that if public debt becomes too large or is not managed with sufficient caution, interest costs may balloon, growth prospects may suffer, and in the limit, a costly debt crisis may be provoked. Governments can bring down their debt levels by improving spending efficiency, expanding the tax base and seeking wider reforms to enhance fiscal balances and boost growth. The IDB said that there are many reasons why public debt levels should be lower than they currently are, highlighting that there are several ways to reduce that debt.

 

 

 

New US Ambassador Nicole D. Theriot accredited

Oct 24, 2023

President Irfaan Ali accepted Letters of Credence from the new United States of America (USA) Ambassador to Guyana, Ms Nicole D. Theriot, at the Office of the President, Georgetown.

In a meeting with the new Ambassador, President Ali declared that Guyana and the U.S share important commitments in global issues that go beyond projects and include democracy, the rule of law, and international peace, among others. Enhancing cooperation between the two countries, forging a deeper relationship, and positioning them within the regional context are paramount. In emphasising Guyana’s vision, the head-of-state said that Guyana is developing a platform through which the country will become a global leader in food, climate and energy security.

US President Joe Biden had nominated Theriot as U.S. Ambassador to Guyana on September 7, 2022, and she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 27, 2023.

Ambassador Theriot served until recently as the Consul General at the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan. She previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Prior to that, she was Director for Immigration and Visa Security at the National Security Council in the White House. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Ambassador Theriot has been with the U.S. Department of State since 1999, and has also served overseas in Morocco, Germany, Pakistan, Iraq, France, Nigeria, Canada, and Barbados. She has received numerous U.S. Department of State awards, including two Senior Foreign Service Performance awards.

Ambassador Theriot said, “It is a great honour to serve as Ambassador to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and as the U.S. representative to the Caribbean Community. I look forward to working with President Ali and the people of Guyana to advance the goal of a prosperous and safe Guyana.”

 

 

 

 

New York senators to visit

September 30, 2023

A high-level delegation led by New York State Senator, Roxanne J. Persaud and Assembly member Alicia Hyndman is expected in Guyana for a five-day visit with a contingent of elected officials from the United States Congress, New York State Senate, New York State Assembly, New York City Council, Schenectady County, and the City of Schenectady.

The delegation has a vested stake because New York State is home to the largest population of Guyanese in the USA. The delegation hopes to foster cooperation and dialogue between the Government of Guyana and Guyanese Diaspora in the State of New York and at the Federal Level. In New York. President Irfaan Ali told Guyanese living overseas that the advancement will make Guyana a powerhouse, representing other countries in the Caribbean and Latin American region.

“We are building a country that is ahead of time; one that is sustainable, resilient, viable, and competitive, but, importantly, one in which Guyana will present global leadership on energy, food and climate. We are building a country for the next seven years; it will be far ahead of time. Aware of the fact that we might be 30 years behind the rest of the world, but, by 2030, we have to be in front of the rest of the world.”

The outlook for many must change in order for the country to achieve its goals.
“This requires very hard work; this requires an understanding of the scale of the task ahead, and this requires us ridding ourselves of selfishness, and being selfless in the approach to development.”

“We are working on ensuring that our prosperity also brings prosperity to the rest of the Caribbean and the rest of the CARICOM region and South American region.”

Guyana’s advancement will be a shared success for the region. Strategic and critical investments are being made to strengthen the country’s health and education sectors to ensure citizens are given the best and equitable service across the country, further fortifying the goal to become resilient in the global arena.

“We are building an economy that is different; one that will be built on innovation, research and development, scientific advancement… We want to build a healthcare system and an education system that are second to none.”.

Over several days in New York the President attended the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, engaging with U St officials on the sidelines, including former President, Bill Clinton.