Bold, ambitious goals for human transformation are being achieved quickly

–President Ali emphasizes that he points to the continued empowerment of citizens through social and economic policies

STRESSING that development is multi-faceted, President Dr. Irfaan Ali said the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has set bold and ambitious goals to provide social and economic empowerment to Guyanese.

The head of state addressed the residents of Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) during the ceremony for two major projects.

Dr. Pointing out the tremendous development taking place in the country, Ali said it can be easy for someone to be attracted to the physical transformation through buildings, roads and other infrastructure.

However, he indicated that the most beautiful and transformative aspect of Guyana’s development over the past four years has been the transformation of people’s lives.

This aspect of the transformation, he said, involves building a support system for youth, especially a future linked to the country’s economic development and expansion.

“We have launched a human transformation project across this country; in that human transformation project, we have set ourselves some bold and ambitious goals,” the President said.

Some of these goals include aiming for 100 percent trained teachers in the education system, and going beyond that to ensure that those who are trained will also become trained graduates.

He also noted that the country wants to ensure that there is adequate training for nurses, community health workers, pharmacists and “laboratory technicians” in all corners of the country.

On a broader level of human development, there was the launch of the GOAL (Guyana Online Academy of Learning) scholarship program, and the move to make the University of Guyana, as well as all government technical and vocational facilities, free of charge to all Guyanese. .

Standing among a group of mostly young people, President Ali noted: “These are young people from your region; a sample of young people from your region who three or four years ago would never have thought they would have had the opportunity to become nurses, nurse technicians and trained teachers in this region.”

He added: “This is social empowerment; this is economic empowerment!”

Against this backdrop, President Ali noted that this is the strength of a policy that goes far beyond the supply of a single product.

He, however, reiterated to the youth that they are growing up in an era where they must understand that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic is about creating and giving opportunities that never existed before to build stronger, viable and sustainable communities.

‘But when someone talks about: oh, can we eat away? Can we eat a building? It shows that they understand what development is, how narrow-minded they are. Not only does physical infrastructure change the way you think, your culture and the way you treat the environment, it also adds value to your property…’ said Dr. Ali.

The Head of State further shared that development is multi-faceted and as such, the government can stand behind the power of faces that can tell the story of what has been achieved.

President Ali added: “The reality of the country we live in today is one that is different. We need to understand the development paradigm; we need to look beyond the superficial nature of those commentators who get everything wrong but have no idea what it will take to fix it.”