“One Guyana” Commission to ensure rights, priorities of all – Pres Ali

– says will be heading into every region to engage all stakeholders

President Dr Irfaan Ali has announced that the long-promised One Guyana Commission is underway and will be focusing on ensuring the rights and priorities of all Guyanese are upheld.
Speaking at the 75th anniversary of the Enmore Martyrs on Friday, the Head of State noted that his intention is to create a framework and a platform through which every stakeholder in Guyana can be a part of the country’s development.
To this end, President Ali noted that his Government will be aggressively setting up different structures to advance this process, including the One Guyana Commission – which he first announced in 2021.
“That commission would be established rapidly with the Prime Minister [Brigadier Retired Mark Phillips] chairing it and for that Commission to work on ensuring that we are building a system in which the rights of all and the priorities of all are reflected in the policies we are pursuing,” he stated.
During his inaugural address to the 12th Parliament in February 2021, Dr Ali revealed the establishment of a “One Guyana Commission” as part of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s plans to foster unity among Guyanese and put an end to the division caused by race and politics.
On Friday, President Ali reiterated this commitment to building an inclusive society in Guyana. In fact, he noted that over the coming weeks, he will be reaching out to a wide cross-section of Guyana to have talks on the development of their communities and by extension, the country.
“I intend to invite every stakeholder in a very civil setting to discuss the journey of Guyana in moving forward… I want to hear from people in every region… No one will or must be left behind. We’re not going to discriminate against any community or town. Let me make this very clear, there are a lot of false narratives there that ‘oh, those who did not support the party in the Local Government Election that they see less resources and they will see less presence of this Government’.”
“But I have news for those who follow these narratives, this President will go harder and stronger to win those hearts… Let me put all of them on notice – be ready because I’m coming harder and stronger with more work, more development and more progress and prosperity for the people,” he posited.
According to the Head of State, the recently concluded Local Government Elections (LGE) was a demonstration that Guyanese are maturing towards a platform of politics of idea and vision.
On this note, he assured that notwithstanding the fact that his party lost in some areas that they were hoping to win at last week’s polls, the Government will still work with those communities and townships to implement and advance all the plans that were promised on the campaign trail.
“Political stability comes from good governance and it comes from us understanding our responsibility beyond winning votes and that responsibility is how to elevate the lives of people and how to govern in a way in which people feel they are involved in their development,” the President stated.
The Guyanese leader went on to outline that during engagements with people on the ground in the lead-up to the June 23 local government polls, four priority areas were brought to the fore. These include security, infrastructure support, security systems like street lights and safe environments for children and families.
Infrastructure, specifically, roads and drainage are another area highlighted. President Ali noted that the Government will be going on an aggressive programme in communities that will integrate residents by having them execute these projects.
The third priority area that came out from those community engagements is the need for recreational facilities for young people to foster a positive mindset and thinking amongst this cohort. A new state-led initiative will focus on this, the President related.
He further pointed out that efforts will be undertaken to enhance health centres and schools in communities. In fact, Cabinet Members have already been instructed to assign workers to all the health centres and community grounds to clean and maintain these facilities every month. The Head of State added that they are also working on establishing management committees in all these areas to support the proper maintenance of these community facilities.
President Ali noted that all of these outcomes from the recently held LGE now require the marriage of leaders at the macro and local levels to advance these priorities and bring tremendous benefit to the country and its people.
“I believe strongly that our population is moving in the right direction when it comes to building political consensus. And one of the reasons, I think, is that we now have a system of direct communications [whereby] we are able to go into communities and speak to people directly… And I believe that this will bring tremendous benefit in the future and it will bring our country stronger together. There is no doubt in my mind that we are going to achieve the ‘One Guyana’ that we are seeking…,” the Guyanese leader asserted.