Govt continues to make policy-driven investments to boost job creation, disposable income – Pres Ali 

Celebrating three years since he was sworn in as President, Dr Irfaan Ali on Thursday reflected on the numerous initiatives the Government has undertaken in the form of policy-driven investments that aim to increase wealth and value opportunities for Guyanese.
From tax reductions on vehicles and cell phone data to house lot distributions, from scholarships and training opportunities to advances in infrastructure and agriculture leading to job creation and increased disposable income, the President expressed that the Government has been actively working to better the lives of all Guyanese.
In doing so, he noted that a policy-driven investment approach has been used.
“The Government pursues policies that are aimed at driving up investment. When we came into Government, we advanced a policy to support investment in new hotels. Today, we have more than seven new hotels already under construction. So, this is where policies drive investments and that is what the Government has been doing – creating policies to drive private capital and private investment,” Ali said.
These new hotels, one of several investments made over the years, will create thousands of jobs and downstream benefits for supermarkets, cleaning services and other stakeholders, Ali explained.
These policies and investments thereby further open up opportunities for wealth and value creation among Guyanese.
“Wealth creation is when the Government develops policies and programmes that open up opportunities in communities for advancement and creation of wealth – whether it’s a small business grant, support to farmers through [provision of] fertilisers…drainage work we’re doing to improve new land so people will have access to do productive work. That is investment to create wealth,” Ali said.
Citing the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) series of events, the President added that this is another depiction of the stream of economic opportunities created for Guyanese – in this case, within the hospitality and tourism, and food and beverage sectors.
Meanwhile, Ali further noted that as the Government continues to make these investments, particularly in infrastructure, the value of the community goes up. This value, he said, is transferable to the community members. “The concept of net transferable value is one in which the Government investment increases the net value or adds to the value of individuals, communities and families,” Ali said. Meanwhile, through the provision of grants, subsidies and scholarships, Ali noted that the Government is working to increase the disposable income of Guyanese to better aid their development. “When you remove the burden of the family, to support healthcare, to support education – free education through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarship, when you have increases for the pensioners, when you have the “Because We Care” grant, when you have a subsidy on sand and cement, when you have lower interest rates by 3 per cent, you’re reducing the cost of the existing budget of that family,” Ali said.
He added that families are thereby able to “free up” more disposable income and redirect it to areas otherwise needed.