Caption: Dr Irfaan Ali
GEORGETOWN, Guyana -A new session of the National Assembly began here on Thursday, with President Dr Irfaan Ali announcing a sleuth of measures and policies that are expected to form the bedrock of a “Vision 2030” initiative being pursued by the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government ahead of a general election next year.
In a lengthy presentation to the special sitting of the Assembly, Ali announced plans for a digital economy, as part of “the new economy we are building that is not one of the past generation.”
He said it would provide a range of services as the country “moves into a smart and agile economy” with Vision 2030 envisaging a “dynamic society” with a high number of people making significant contributions to the socio-economic development of Guyana.
Ali said that the first-ever Guyana Digital School will soon be established as part of national plans to create a fully functional digital economy,
“The digital school will be resourced like any brick and mortar facility, with the added benefit of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support learning,” Ali said, noting that the school will cover nursery education all the way to Grade 12 and that tutors will be part of the venture to support teaching Guyana’s curriculum.
But he said there will also be a focus on nursing, accounting, entrepreneurship and remedial education in the evenings as well as various extracurricular activities to be done via the online platform.
“In fulfilling our promise of ensuring that our propensity redounds to the prosperity of the region, this Guyana Digital School will also be available for CARICOM citizens,” he said.
Ali said the government hopes to vastly transform service delivery through this ongoing digital transformation, telling legislators “we want to lead efforts in the delivery of effective, secure government services across every sector and to mitigate the risks of being left behind.”
Ali said he was looking forward to a new Guyana that would require all persons coming together and “requiring a new thinking…hard work and faith in the government and people we serve.”
Ali, who addressed the National Assembly for the second time since assuming office in 2020, told legislators, who had been on recess since August, that every household across Guyana will receive a one- off GUY$200,000 (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) cash grant this year and that distribution is expected to commence instantly.
He said that the grant is part of the government’s determination at reducing disparities in the country and guaranteeing that the people of Guyana have more disposable income.
He told legislators that altogether, it is expected that about GUY$60 billion will be infused into the economy through this cash grant.
Another fiscal measure announced by the Head of State is the payment to all public sector workers, who will earn no less than GUY$100,000 monthly by the end of 2025, thereby .increasing the minimum public sector wage to GUY$100,000, with Ali indicating that this salary adjustment joins other measures the government has already pursued to adjust salaries for various categories of workers, thereby increasing their disposal income by more than one billion dollars.
“This is how we are promoting prosperity, ownership, distribution of wealth. This is how the resources and revenue of this country are being spent every single day to lift the lives of people, to expand national wealth, coastal wealth, and community wealth,” he said, announcing also a GUY$10,000 tax deductible per month per child for one parent.
“This initiative would see the tax deductible on your salary improving your disposal income and expanding yor non-tax income,” he said.
Ali said that the government would be providing a GUY$10 billion one off injection into the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) so as to provide additional benefits to pensioners who are now receiving GUY$43,500 monthly. The details of that initiative he said would be outlined in the 2025 national budget.
President Ali told the National Assembly that from January next year, university education here would be free and that no student will have to pay any tuition fees.
“Starting from the January 2025 semester, tuition fees will be completely abolished from the University of Guyana,” he said of the initiative expected to benefit an estimated 11,000 students at a cost of eight billion dollars.
Government has already written off an estimated GUY$203.7 million in student loans so far this year.
Inn addition, Ali announced Thursday that each child across the country will benefit from a GUY$10,000 universal healthcare voucher that will be used to help finance a basic menu of tests that will hopefully detect and possibly prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as early as possible.
He said that while Guyana already has universal healthcare, the new venture is meant to finance a basic menu of tests that will help the country establish baseline data needed to determine what preventative actions can be taken to prevent nn-communicable diseases (NCDs). As many as 500,000 persons are likely to benefit from the intervention which will cost about five billion dollars.
“This universal health voucher will help us as we work to build a healthy, strong and resilient population,” Ali said.
The head of state also announced a 50 per cent reduction in the cost of electricity, with the measure expected to go into effect before the end of next year.
He said also that new rules would be introduced in the new financial year for the poultry and meat sector to allow for accelerated deprecation of the capital investments by farmers.
Ali saif this would reduce the cost f investment in the sector and incentivize and increase production as Guyana moves towards becoming the poultry/meat producing capital of the Caribbean. (CMC)
Last paragraph states “Ali Saif”