Pres Ali charts technology-driven vision in meeting with IT Heads from across Govt

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Tuesday stressed his administration’s commitment to digitisation, artificial intelligence (AI), and the integration of technology across public sector operations when he met with Information Technology (IT) systems heads of departments across all Government agencies in a meeting at the Office of the President. The meeting came following the President’s announcement on Sunday, at his inauguration ceremony, that over the next six weeks his new Government will be focusing on, among other initiatives, the planning and preparation of the Digital Guyana Project, which is about the building out of Guyana’s national digital backbone. The project is part of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) vision for Guyana over the next five years as “The Rising Frontier.” “To achieve these plans, high levels of productivity and effective implementation will be critical and technology and innovation will play an essential role,” the President noted in his inauguration address at State House after being sworn in as Guyana’s 9th Executive President following the PPP/C’s win of the September 1 General and Regional Elections. The President noted that technology will be playing a central role in the Government’s build out of the country’s infrastructure and human capital development over the next few years.

“With our broader strategy for Guyana’s development beyond 2025, your Government has set out the framework to turn ambition into reality… and technology and innovation will play an essential role. Transformation must drive economic diversification as well as human capital development,” the President said. “Our schools will be transformed into modern centres of learning, offering 21st-century education, digital tools and enhanced teaching to prepare our children for the future.” As work began on Monday, the President has been setting the tone for his next five years in office by meeting with organisation heads, getting updates, and laying out the administration’s expectations and principles for 2025 – 2030.
The Government Chief Technology Officer, Darryl Akeung, and the Director of Presidential Affairs, Marcia Nadir-Sharma, were also present at the meeting on Tuesday. The Digital Guyana Project is among a number of infrastructure developments that the Government will be focusing on the planning and preparation of over the next six weeks, according to announcements made by the President in his inauguration speech.
Other major projects
Other major projects include the new Berbice River Bridge, Corentyne river bridge and a second Gas-to-Energy (GtE) plant in Region Six, and the construction of a deep-water harbour among a number of other projects.
The President noted that the major infrastructure build out is part of the new Government’s plan to continue Guyana’s transformation, country wide.
“The next five years will be the most consequential in our nation. History has placed in our hands the resources, the leadership, the opportunities, the partnerships and the international goodwill to transform promise into reality,” the President said.
He added that Guyana’s economic future will depend not only on the ambitions and policies of the Government but also on a vibrant private sector that is ready to drive wealth and job creation. The President’s speech has set the stage for what citizens can expect over the next five years as the PPP/C Government continues the massive build out of Guyana that it has been on over the past five years.
Over the past five years Guyana has seen massive growth in the country’s infrastructure as the country rode the wave of economic boom brought on by Guyana’s burgeoning oil and gas industry. This includes the building of major roads and bridges, including the new Demerara River crossing, which is scheduled to be commissioned later this month, the massive construction/rehabilitation of over 60 school buildings, construction of multiple state-of-the-art regional hospitals, six of which have already commissioned and the start of work on the revolutionary 300-megawatt (MW) GtE power plant.