‘We know what our commitments are’ – Guyana Chronicle

–President Ali assures citizens PPP/C gov’t will deliver ‘faster, better, and greater’ on pledges, policies

CENTREING his message on a bold assurance that his government will deliver “faster, better, and greater,” President, Dr Irfaan Ali recently reaffirmed the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration’s commitment to fulfilling its promises.
The President pushed back against claims that his government has fallen short on its pledges. He stressed that the administration remains fully focused on executing its development agenda and meeting the needs of citizens.
The government, he reaffirmed, is committed to building prosperity and ensuring that citizens benefit from real policies to improve their livelihoods.
He pointed to the country’s expanding economy, fuelled by unprecedented growth, expanding private-sector confidence and a wave of new investments across multiple industries.
President Ali cautioned that such momentum requires more than slogans and simplistic assumptions.
“Our economy is not a toy,” he said, adding, “This is real business that demands technical competence and brain power.”
COMMITMENTS
In his New Year address, President, Dr Irfaan Ali had outlined an expansive vision for Guyana’s development in 2025, framing the period ahead as one of the most transformative moments in the nation’s history.
He emphasised that the government’s long-term objective of delivering a better quality of life for every citizen is no longer aspirational, but increasingly tangible, with projections that Guyana could achieve one of the highest living standards in the hemisphere before the decade closes.
“Since 2020, from then, we have been singularly focused on the rapid transformation to a modern, prosperous Guyana for all – one where national prosperity translates into community, household and individual well-being,” the President had said, adding: “The physical transformation of our country is very much underway and visible for all to see.”
The vision was for Guyana to achieve one of the highest living standards in the hemisphere by decade’s end.
The commitments outlined in the President’s New Year message have since been translated into tangible results, with the government delivering on several major pledges.
These included substantial increases in wages, pensions and social assistance; continued subsidies to cushion global cost-of-living pressures; the reintroduction of the “Because We Care” grant for schoolchildren and the rollout of the $100,000 cash grant for every adult citizen.
Significant progress was also recorded in infrastructural development, with new roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, and housing projects advancing across the country. Most notable was the recent commissioning of the New Demerara River Bridge, which is formally named after Guyana’s Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.
ECONOMIC EXPANSION
Diversification of the economy continued with the Ministry of Finance reporting an overall real GDP growth of 7.5 percent and a non-oil growth rate of 13.8 percent in its 2025 mid-year report.
President Ali had reiterated that such momentum requires discipline and prudent management of the country’s economy.
The report underscores the country’s continued transformation, underpinned by strong performances in both the oil-and-gas and non-oil sectors — particularly agriculture, manufacturing, and construction.
This marked the fifth consecutive year of non-oil expansion at the half-year point, following the global downturn in 2020.
MORE THAN CASH GRANT AND BONUSES
Building on the PPP/C’s track record of fulfilling its commitments, President Ali had only last week stated that the government’s support will go beyond cash bonuses and transfers.
“This government has a very elaborate agenda for the upliftment of your life, for the improvement of your life, for building prosperity for you, for building prosperity for your community, for empowering you, for giving you the opportunity to live a life in which you have access to the best health care, best education, home ownership, reduced interest rates, access to low-interest business development loans and grants with no collateral, access to textbooks, expanded school-feeding programmes, expanded infrastructure, community infrastructure, building out facilities to support women’s health,” he told reporters last week.
The President has already announced that the government will be giving $150,000 to each fisherfolk as part of an effort to better support these workers.
This was a commitment made during the campaign trail. President Ali had disclosed that Guyanese fisherfolk can expect more direct support, training, co-investment opportunities and a climate fund to enhance their lives and the local industry.
President Ali then outlined plans to adopt newer technologies, training and equipping fisherfolk with the tools needed to ply their trade with greater precision.
He recently announced too that rice farmers across the country will benefit from a $2.7 billion support, with the government providing more incentives.
MORE GRANTS, HOLISTIC SUPPORT
Meanwhile, Vice-President Jagdeo too has assured Guyanese that there will be “several” cash grants during the PPP/C’s five-year term in office.
Responding to rumours that the cash grants will no longer be distributed individually but on a household level, the Vice-President said: “There has been no such discussion at any level in the government. It’s a blatant lie; we never made any such decision.
“Whatever the president said on the campaign trail will be done,” Dr Jagdeo said during a recent press conference.
Last year, citizens aged 18 and older benefitted from a one-off $100,000 cash grant as part of a series of initiatives designed to more inclusively share the country’s wealth.
That intervention was welcomed as a direct relief measure during the festive season.
A REVIVAL
Since returning to office in 2020, the PPP/C administration has presented its stewardship as a reversal of the previous A Partnership for National Unity & Alliance For change (APNU+AFC) administration’s stagnant and contracting policies, highlighting the reopening of parts of the sugar industry, the restoration of thousands of jobs and the creation of more than 60,000 additional employment opportunities, including part-time roles that have sparked small-scale enterprises and agricultural activity across communities.
The PPP/C government has also underscored its removal of over 300 taxes and fees introduced under the previous administration, alongside a series of tax cuts and relief measures intended to ease household pressures.
These measures include the elimination of VAT on machinery, equipment, water, electricity, data services, hinterland travel and other essential goods and services.
Sectors such as mining and sugar, which officials argue had been sidelined, have since received renewed attention as part of a broader strategy to diversify and modernise the national economy.