Cash transfers to every household not feasible even at highest point of oil revenues – President Ali

His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Thursday made it clear that even at the highest point of oil and gas revenues, Guyana cannot afford to give each citizen cash transfers.

President Ali was at the time speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement at State House, Georgetown

“I can say like many others, let’s give everybody $1 million each. First of all, it is nonsensical because we can’t afford it even at the highest point of oil revenues.”

The head of state explained that the government is looking at improving the country’s competitiveness, productive capacity, strengthen the work force, enhance wages and build national prosperity that reaches the household level.

“As a society, we have to debunk this type of fallacy otherwise, all of us will be part of building a future that is not sustainable,” he reiterated. 

President Ali said the PPP/C Government is embarking on a massive development trajectory that will lay the foundation to build an economy that will perform in a world 2030 and beyond.

“We want to build a country that is very deliberate in the architecture that we’re building for macroeconomic stability, for resilience, for sustainability, and to ensure continuous growth and development,“ he said.

In outlying the vision for 2030 and beyond, President Ali said the aim is to make Guyana a leader in food security and agro-processing, as well as ecological, biological, financial, technological, health and manufacturing services.

“So, we have to understand what is required of us now to achieve this. And that is the type of discourse that I think is necessary. 

“It is how we ensure we build a system an architecture that is fit for purpose and gives us that ability to be flexible and build a competitive environment in which our country will operate globally,’ he underscored. 

President Ali however, pointed out that the country’s services industry cannot be built with inadequate human resources.

To this end, the government is investing heavily in skills training and scholarship opportunities to ensure the country is equipped with the right complement of human resources to support its development.

Already, the government is investing billions of dollars in massive infrastructure development countrywide. These include the new highway from Mandela to Diamond, the East Coast to East Bank Demerara Road, and the Schoonord to Crane Road.

President Ali said technical works are in process to continue the Eccles to Diamond highway all the way to Buzz Bee Dam, Craig, and then to Land of Canaan.

He also mentioned the commencement of the new highway along the Railway Embankment, as well as a new highway in New Amsterdam to Moleson Creek.

Additionally, President Ali noted that all the bridges along the Linden to Lethem trail are being built to international standard, while the government is also looking at building a new four-lane river bridge at Wismar, Linden. Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, Senior Minister in the Office of the President, Dr Ashni Singh and other Government Ministers were in attendance. Members of the private sector, the Guyana Bar Association and other stakeholders also participated.