President Dr Irfaan Ali has emphasised that the Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) is the only party that understands how to operate in the new geopolitical environment and to develop the necessary policies to address issues such as imported inflation.
He made the remarks whilst addressing a public meeting hosted by the PPP/C in Alexander Village, Georgetown on Wednesday evening.
“When you vote on the 1st of September, you’re voting for a clear strategy that will ensure the price of fuel and the price at the pump does not go as it is going up worldwide, to ensure that cooking gas in your house, the prices come down, to ensure that the price of electricity is cut by half, you’re voting to ensure that there is a government in place that knows how to adjust taxes and remove the taxes so that imported inflation is not passed down to the consumer,” President Ali, who is running for a second term in office, said.
“When you vote on the 1st of September, you’re voting for a government that understands how to develop monetary policies, fiscal policies that are imported in dealing with imported inflation…outside of the control of the government,” he added.
For 2025, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that Guyana’s inflation rate will be lower than the global average, estimated to be around 4.5%.
President Ali explained that the worldwide increase in commodity prices is as a result of global events, such as wars – things which the Guyana Government cannot control.
“We can speak as long as we want, but if there is war in Ukraine, if there is war in the Middle East, where there’s transport route to move fertiliser and to move grains, the prices are going to go up, and if the prices go up, then everything that is dependent on fertiliser and grain will go up,” he highlighted.
What the Guyana Government can do, however, is develop policies that can lessen the impact of these events on citizens, President Ali noted. In this regard, he reminded that the PPP/C administration has already been doing that.
“What we have to do…is to control those prices by investing and that is why we’re building our own fertiliser plant, that is why we’re planting thousands of acres of corn and soya so we can produce our own feed, our own grains right here in Guyana, that is why we’re experimenting with the production of wheat so that we can avoid those imported inflation costs and control the cost structure,” President Ali pointed out.
“It doesn’t come fancifully…it comes from real policies, real initiatives, it comes from understanding the broader issues and developing policies that are directed to addressing these problems that are external in nature but have great internal implications,” he reasoned.
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He also reminded that currently, Guyanese are paying the lowest for gas in the Caribbean – a direct result of a measure introduced by the PPP/C administration to slash the excise taxes on fuel.
Meanwhile, President Ali pointed out that the PPP/C administration is the only party that has demonstrated its ability to operate in the new geopolitical environment and has proven its competence to represent the country in complex matters.
He referred to Guyana’s ability to negotiate a lower rate of the United States’ reciprocal tariff from 38% to 15%.
“Look at what is going on with much bigger and complex countries and look at where their negotiations are and look at what we’ve been able to accomplish,” he expressed.
President Ali also spoke about the PPP/C’s ability to create an enabling environment to secure capital mobilisation to finance projects, earn the confidence of the global financial system, and attract foreign investments to Guyana.
Already, two American financial institutions – Citibank and the Bank of America – have expressed interest in establishing representative offices in Guyana.
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According to President Ali, come September 1, citizens would be “voting for a government that can work in such an international environment to get these major investors, to get their attention first of all, then to get their confidence, then to incentivise the system to bring their investment here. That is no walk in the park, that is hard, tedious work, that is complex negotiations and I say to you tonight, there is only one party that can do this, that is your party, the Peoples Progressive Party Civic.”
President Ali also highlighted the PPP/C’s success in positioning Guyana as a world leader in climate change, food security and energy security.
“Today, you cannot speak about food security without speaking about Guyana’s leadership, you cannot speak about climate security without speaking about Guyana’s leadership, you cannot speak about energy security without speaking about Guyana’s leadership. Why is that? It’s because we have positioned Guyana in bold positions globally,” he emphasised.
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