Gov’t focused on improving disposable income in every household, access to basic facilities – President Ali

The Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali-led PPP/C Administration will continue to work assiduously and make the necessary investments to ensure the lives of all Guyanese are transformed.

This reassurance was given by President Ali during his recent interview with international news agency, Al Jazeera.

“One of the important things that we must do is to improve disposable income in every household, to give people access to basic facilities. We understand what it takes to manage the country without resources. So, we more than understand the responsibility that comes with managing a country with resources, with this opportunity to transform the lives of every single person,” President Ali noted as he highlighted how his government intends to address the poverty level.

The administration is aggressively pushing to provide 50,000 jobs over a five-year period, as was promised in its manifesto. It has invested a significant number of resources to strategically enhance the lives of citizens, since taking office in August 2020.

When it came into office, the government removed many burdensome taxes which were imposed by the previous administration. This resulted in some $40 billion in taxes being placed back into taxpayers’ pockets.

Further, to increase disposable income the part-time jobs initiative was launched last year, from which some 13,000 persons are benefitting. This programme will cost the government some $10 billion annually.

The job opportunities allow for persons to work for 10 days and earn up to $40,000 monthly. Jobs are being offered in specific areas within government ministries and agencies and caters for one person per household.

President Ali said his administration also intends to make a dent in the poverty statistics.

The Head of State further outlined that, “We are moving in a direction in which more people will move to a position in which not only the basic poverty level is addressed, but the issue of empowerment−disposable income− is addressed to the extent that more persons will be graduating to the middle- class.”

The president said government will utilise the country’s oil resources to diversify the economy and bring benefits to all citizens. The head of state said the mixture of government and private sector investments are pushing the country’s development.

He pointed out that government expenditure, for the expansion various sectors, is part of its agenda to bring prosperity to every home, positioning Guyana as a leader in food production, energy, and infrastructure, to name a few.

“We’re also seeing a lot of private investments in these sectors, and that is because people are seeing the direction in which the country is going and the vision in which we are positioning Guyana,” he posited.

Dr Ali also made reference to the substantive improvement in Guyana’s equality statistics, as revealed in the 2022 Gender Gap report.

He noted that this level of development is set to increase two-fold in this regard and will also add to efforts to reduce the poverty level.

Moreover, President Ali emphasised the importance of ramping up public education, as well as the involvement of local stakeholders, which are essential to the country’s development.