Finance Minister reiterates Govt’s commitment to improving lives of pensioners

– applauds Salvation Army’s excellent work done to support vulnerable communities

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh on Monday stated that the PPP/C Government intends to continue working towards improving the lives of all Guyanese as it forges ahead with building a modern Guyana.

He was at the time delivering the feature address at the Salvation Army’s Christmas Hamper Distribution exercise where many gathered to collect hampers and to sing Christmas carols as they enjoyed the season of goodwill.
The Minister highlighted the Government’s initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life of pensioners, which include a nearly 40 per cent increase in Old Age Pension since the PPP/C returned to office, as well as investment in public healthcare such as six regional hospitals and various telemedicine centres in hinterland regions across the country.
The Minister reminded the gathering that he has been spearheading National Insurance Scheme (NIS) outreaches across the country in several regions to deal with various matters that affect vulnerable groups.
The Minister noted that this initiative will continue and that Government is committed to resolving all of the problems.

Dr Singh alluded to President Ali’s ‘One Guyana’ initiative which he noted has a deeper meaning to include each citizen of every religion and from every location in the country whereby they must be included in Guyana’s development and benefit from the country’s resources.
“This is not by accident and our President has adopted a philosophy to characterise all that we do, a philosophy of One Guyana…. the One Guyana that President Ali has adopted as the special theme of his presidency is a philosophy that will see and is committed to seeing every single Guyanese person playing a meaningful part and participating fully in and benefitting fully from the modern Guyana that we’re building.”
However, Dr Singh praised the Salvation Army for its excellent work and initiatives over the years, including its programme to help rehabilitate persons suffering from drug and alcohol addiction, which has helped hundreds who were “brought back from the brink of addiction”.
“I am proud as a representative of this Government to publicly associate myself and my Government with the excellent work that is being done by the Salvation Army.”

Dr Singh lauded the elderly for their contributions to the country over the years and posited that now is the time for young Guyanese to stay in school as modern Guyana being built will require certain types of skills and this is why the Government is building more schools all across the country.
“Those of you who have children and grandchildren, you have the responsibility to say to them “aspire to get a good job, aspire to get a good income and work and develop yourselves,” he advised the elderly.
Also, present and delivering remarks at the event was Advisory Board Chairman Edward Boyer, who expressed gratitude to the PPP/C Government for its significant support over the years.