President Irfaan Ali’s respected, trusted leadership

Dear Editor,
Growing up in Guyana, the Caribbean and elsewhere, one of the lessons we were taught by our parents, teachers and elders is to always tell the truth, under any circumstance.
Telling the truth is one of the most important lessons known worldwide. It is a value that should be cherished and respected by all, and His Excellency President Dr. Irfaan Ali certainly respects it. Since being sworn in as President on August 2, 2020, President Ali has told the nation that, no matter the situation, he would always be honest and respectful, not only to those who elected him to office, but to all, regardless of race, ethnicity, or party affiliation.
Few can deny that President Ali has been honest to the people, and dedicated to the cause of improving their lives. In return for his honesty and dedication, Guyanese from coast to coast and in the diaspora have placed their trust and confidence in him to make Guyana a prosperous nation.
His style of governance, his “One Guyana” initiative, and his 1000-Man programme are geared towards uniting the people, bridging the poverty gap, and inspiring our youths to become law-abiding, decent and productive citizens. His outreach tours to the people in the rural areas of the country, especially his recent visit to Berbice, where he was greeted by thousands, is a clear indication that the people believe in him, and trust him to do the right thing for them and the country.
It has become natural for the citizens to trust President Ali; because, during his campaign for the Presidency, he ran on a mainly economic platform that cited declining growth, increased joblessness, and high crime rate under the Granger Administration. As a result, he promised to create 50,000 new jobs over five years, provide house lots to those who need, construct houses for vulnerable Guyanese, rebuild the economy, increase the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and reduce crime.
After two and a half years in office, President Dr. Ali is on his way to fulfilling the promises outlined in the PPPC 2020 manifesto. His Administration has already created more than 30,000 jobs, awarded more than 20,000 house lots to the citizenry, built more than 200 houses, reduced crime; and the country’s GDP is hovering around 35 percent, which is perhaps the highest in the world.
In the area of housing, President Ali has promised other initiatives, which are being implemented across the country to meet Guyana’s housing demand. These are: free building materials for select categories of new home builders, low interest rates, and long-term mortgages and low-cost housing.
President Ali has also stuck to his promise to reopen the sugar estates that were closed by the APNU/AFC Government, even though they had promised not to close the estates in their 2015 campaign. During the 2020 campaign, Dr Irfaan Ali had made it abundantly clear to all and sundry that, except for Wales Estate on the West Bank of Demerara — where sugar cultivation has been discontinued, the infrastructure dismantled, and lands sold — a PPPC Government would ensure the three other estates closed by the APNU+AFC Government are reopened.
And while many in APNU+AFC had criticized his plans to reopen the shuttered sugar estates as unrealistic, President Ali has once again proven them wrong. He has not shied away from the PPPC pre-election commitment to reopen sugar estates. In fact, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, on February 1, 2023, stated that the Rose Hall Estate would be reopened by the end of September this year.
On the international scene, President Ali has undeniably positioned Guyana as the leader of the Caribbean and the Global North (First World) countries in several areas, including climate change, energy, and food security. According to His Excellency, “Government is managing the country in a way that will ensure sustainability, resilience and prosperity.” He said, “We want to position Guyana through the leveraging of our natural assets and through the leveraging of our natural competitive advantage; position Guyana at the front seat of all three of these areas.”
After two and a half years in office, many of President Ali’s counterparts in the Caribbean and elsewhere have come to respect and trust him, and have commended him for his strong leadership and dedication towards climate change, energy, and food security, all of which have existential economic, political and social outcomes for all nations, especially those in the Global South (Third World).

Sincerely,
Dr Asquith Rose