Court paves way for restoration of economic confidence, job creation – Ali

CCJ judgements

Presidential Candidate of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Irfaan Ali sees Tuesday’s landmark rulings of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as an opportunity to restore economic confidence and job creation in Guyana.

The Trinidad-based regional court ruled that the no-confidence motion against the coalition Government was validly passed on December 21, 2018 and the unilateral appointment of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman was unconstitutional.
In response to these decisions, Ali, in a statement on his social media page, posited that his Party’s “big win” in the Court paved the way for boosting confidence in the country’s economy.
“Investors do not want to invest in countries that are seen as unstable and lack respect for the rule of law and the Constitution. Without investment, we cannot grow our economy and create more jobs for Guyanese,” he noted.
According to the PPP/C Presidential Candidate, he is committed to ensuring that Guyana is back in safe and stable hands so that the Constitution is respected and the rule of law is adhered to.
“… when Guyana is stable, Guyana’s economy grows and jobs are created … Guyana needs strong, stable leadership,” Ali contended.
Since being elected as the Presidential Candidate for the PPP/C, Ali has been on an outreach programme, listening to concerns of Guyanese – both here and in the Diaspora – and highlighting his Party’s plans should it turn to office to create a better country and improve the lives of its people.
In fact, during an outreach in New York earlier this year, Ali said there was nothing in the country right now that incited excitement among Guyanese, at home or in the Diaspora.
“People have lost hope; they don’t see a future, they don’t aspire to something. Three and a half years ago … everyone was involved in something or the other that progressed them, that showed they have hope for a future, that they have hope for a better Guyana, that they have hope for better prospects for their families to the extent that we had many persons from the Diaspora who came back and they were investing in that future, because they saw hope in the country. They saw the country leading in a direction that would create opportunities for them,” he stated.
The Presidential Candidate promised to lead a Government that would be all-inclusive.
“It is when we achieve that, when everyone feel a sense of hope and pride in Guyana and what Guyana has to offer, that is what will take us very strongly into the future,” he posited.
According to Ali, in order to restore this lost hope and the aspiration that would drive development and economic activity, they need to go beyond the capsuling of ideas into a political party.
The former Housing Minister had reiterated that the journey going forward was not about one person but an all-inclusive team of Guyanese coming together to take the country forward. He outlined that among the strategies that were on the forefront of his Party’s vision is an Image result for Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-driven country that would not only create new jobs but open up new and important sectors while providing greater efficiencies to existing industries such as health, education, governance, and security. He added that they would also look at utilising technological services as an export commodity earning foreign currency.
Employment creation is one of the pillars that the PPP/C has been touting against the backdrop of thousands of job lost at the hands of the coalition Government.
At a press conference in April, his first since being elected Presidential Candidate, Ali noted that even his Party’s plan to create 50,000 new jobs was insufficient.
“There were some (criticism) raised on the 50,000 job creation, but let me say, this is a very, very conservative figure,” Ali stated.
He went on to outline some of the key sectors in which an Irfaan Ali-led PPP/C Administration would provide an array of jobs for Guyanese. These include the ICT sector with the establishment of call centres and provision of critical services in sectors such as education, health, financial services, and security.
Additionally, he mentioned eco-tourism, agriculture, mining, environmental services, forestry, and housing as key sectors that can also churn out many employment opportunities if the right investments were made.
Further, Ali noted that the impending oil and gas sector too can be a great source of job creation within the areas of training, shore-based facilities, gas and energy development, enlightened local content, machinery and engineering.