President Irfaan Ali’s mission – leapfrogging Guyana into the 21st century

First-world-looking new national physical infrastructure, such as a new railway network system, new highways, new river bridges, new hospitals, new schools, new university campuses, including a new law school, new medical campuses, regional stadiums, regional cultural centers, etc., are part of the blueprint to transform Guyana.
Making Guyana the digital and AI capital is a priority focal development area. The vision is clear – transforming Guyana from a backward developing country into a bustling developed country, one with international prestige and recognized as a leader in regional and global matters. The blueprint is clear – first, world-class national infrastructure; second, modern, clean communities with green spaces; and third, an empowered population with boundless opportunities for individual and family growth.
President Irfaan Ali spoke forcefully last week when he declared that in the next five years, in keeping with the party’s manifesto, a robust development plan will see Guyana leapfrogging ahead of other developing countries. President Ali stated, ” We are no longer a nation waiting for opportunity; we are creating it, shaping it, and owning it. ” This is not idle talk. The new Bharat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge today stands as a symbol of the new Guyana.
The six new regional hospitals stand as a visible glimpse of the Guyana of tomorrow. The new hotels have begun to change the landscape. The President is on target when he said that while others talk, his government is working with a blueprint to realize the Guyana of tomorrow today.
If we examine the various development and work plans, we will see the three planks of transformational development. Plank one continues to be the transformation of national physical infrastructure, such as bridges, highways, drainage and irrigation, sea defense, hospitals, schools, etc. These will not only improve lives and create jobs, but also transform how Guyana looks. In short order, we will leave the backward-looking country behind.
One of these projects includes adding a new railway system that complements the highways and leads to improved transportation networks. This transport system will further be transformed into a modern, first-world transport network with new river bridges, similar to the new BJ Demerara River Bridge and the new Wismar River Bridge.
New bridges, like the Corentyne River Bridge, will allow seamless travel and trade between Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana; the new Berbice River Bridge; and the new Kurupukari Bridge will facilitate free flow to Brazil through the Linden-Lethem Highway. While these new initiatives are some of the actions being taken, the vision is clear – seamless travel and transport across the length and breadth of our beautiful country.
The second plank of the development blueprint is the transformation of our communities, including ensuring that no community must traverse along mud dams and streets, replacing all of these poverty-stricken relics with concrete and asphalt roads. All mud drains will be replaced with concrete drains, all streets will be lined with lights, and all communities will be equipped with safety cameras for better security. All communities will be improved with green recreational spaces, with floodlights for day-and-night activities. Community nursery and primary schools, as well as community health centers, will be part of every community.
Plank #3 of transformational development will focus on individual and family empowerment, ensuring good maternal and child health, creating jobs, and ensuring full educational and vocational training opportunities. National facilities such as the Maternal and Pediatric Hospital, new oncology and neurology centers, a new lung health and sleep disorder center, a new robotic hospital, a new disability and rehabilitation center, a new ophthalmology and eye health center, new dental and oral facilities , and new Level 5 hospitals in various regions, including the new Level 5 hospitals in Regions 3 and 6 and a new GPHC health center, will not merely transform the health sector into a world-class health system, but will also improve health for individuals and families, from infants to the elderly.
Not so long ago, Guyana was the basket case of the Caribbean, one of the poorest countries in the world, and we looked the part. Today, Guyana is poised to become one of the most developed countries in the Caribbean. President Irfaan Ali has become impatient and wants Guyana to leapfrog; instead of decades, he wants Guyana to reach our destination and our destiny today , and not in some distant tomorrow. Bharat Jagdeo, who, as president, believed we could get there when we did not have oil, now wants to see the journey around the corner, rather than along some endless road to nowhere.
No matter how many times and how many documents the PPP government provides, the naysayers, unable to deny the obvious development taking place all around us, fall back on their overused and over abused political posture of demanding, ” Where is the plan?” or ” Where is the blueprint?” These naysayers conveniently ignore that political parties present their vision, sector strategies, and sector policies through manifestos. It is true that not all manifestos succeed in presenting a clear vision and that not all manifestos can clearly define strategies. Some manifestos simply itemize a number of actions or splatter pages with a list of disconnected policies. This was instantly visible in Elections 2025 in Guyana.
The PPP presented a clear vision and specific policies and actions for total transformation. The others presented unrealistic “knock-offs” and strung together irrelevant AI policies. Each and every time we hear one of the naysayers ask the question, ” Where is the plan?” or ” Where is the blueprint?”
I remember the iconic advertisement on American TV decades ago which asked, ” Where is the beef? ” For the last five years, annual national documents such as the revised LCDS, the biodiversity plan, the digital plans, etc., present the vision of the Guyana of tomorrow and describe the details of how Guyana reaches that destination. But the naysayers keep asking, “Where is the blueprint?”