President Irfaan Ali said his government will continue to implement policies and programmes to improve the quality of life of all Guyanese, in the face of the global economic challenges.
The Head of State assured that “we are in this together,” noting that the global challenges require that all stakeholders work collectively, to support each other.
He delivered the statement on Friday, as he sought to bring the nation up-to-speed with the current crisis in the supply chain market which has significantly affected manufacturing.
He noted the surge in the price of fertiliser globally. This, he said, is due to the rising cost of natural gas. He said it is for such reasons that his government is pushing for Guyana’s own gas-to-shore pipeline. “So that we could have our own local production. We could control our own local production. We can have our own programmes and policies to help our farmers have stable prices.”
While prices continue to soar, the Guyanese leader said his government is not sitting idly by, but is rather taking a proactive approach to address the situation.
“We are not sitting down and waiting for the situation to correct itself, your government is actively pursuing bilateral discussions to have a direct import of fertiliser. That is what the government is doing at this moment. The last four weeks, we have initiated discussions with bilateral partners directly to get the fertilizer in to minimise the impact of the increase… we are doing this so that the farmers, the sugar industry, the rice producers could all benefit because if they do not bring down the cost of fertiliser, we know that the final product will increase.”
He reminded that Guyana is part of a global economy, and that the challenges that occur around the world, will also affect the country. He said what the country has to do, is define policies that will help mitigate some of the global challenges.
President Ali said, “I want you to know that just as we have done over the last year, we will continue to pursue measures that minimise the effect on the people of our country, that minimise the effect on the pockets. You can rest assured.”
Amidst the global economic issues, the Head of State assured that he is still committed to increased salaries for public servants, the joint services, and frontline workers.
“These are all ongoing discussions within the government. And soon you will see the results of those discussions, because we realise that this is a continuous problem and the government has to be proactive in addressing these issues.”
