Forty-five year-old Mohamed Irfaan Ali was on Sunday sworn into office as Guyana’s head of state a second consecutive five year term, after the country’s electoral commission (GECOM) late on Saturday night declared the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) as the winner of the September 1 general and regional elections.
The oath of office was administered by acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Roxane George, as thousands of citizens braved the scorching sunshine on the lawns of State House, the President’s official residence in the capital, Georgetown, to witness the occasion.
“I am not the President of some Guyanese. I am the President of all Guyana. That principle has guided me and my government over the last five years, and it shall remain my compass in the years ahead. Our greatest achievements always come when we stand together. Today I pledge to be a president for every community, every sector, and every Guyanese,” Ali said, indicating that his new cabinet will be known “in the coming days.
“I will also announce a wide range of other key appointments across the public sector to ensure the entire system is led by persons who are committed to delivering effective service to the Guyanese people,” President Ali said.
According to GECOM, Ali was duly elected head of state after the PPP/C secured a resounding victory with over 240,000 votes cast in its favour, translating into a 36-seat majority in the 65-member National Assembly.
Under Guyana’s proportional system 40 legislators are chosen from a single nationwide constituency and 25 from 10 geographical constituencies.
The newly formed We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) received 109,000 votes, securing 16 seats, while the main opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) received 77,000 votes and 12 seats. The Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) gained one seat in the National Assembly.
In his 33- minute address after he was sworn in, President Ali, vowed to be a leader for the entire country an urged citizens to put aside their differences now that the elections are over, noting that the next five years will “demand the best of all of us to transform promises into reality.
“From Essequibo to Berbice and Demerara, from Linden and New Amsterdam to Lethem and Mabaruma, every strand of our national tapestry has spoken. Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese, our first people across the hinterland… One Guyana is not a slogan. It is a lived ethic, equal in dignity, respect.
“To those who have not supported me, know that I am your President too. Your hopes and worries belong at the center of our world. We will not let yesterday’s hurts script tomorrow’s hope.
“I will spend as much time listening to Linden, New Amsterdam, Lethem and Mabaruma as I do in Georgetown because government must be seen, heard and felt in every community, village and township,” Ali said.
He said the vision is of a Guyana as a “rising frontier” capable of taking full advantage of its natural resources, oil and gas, minerals and a vast forest that will play a leading role in environmental stewardship.
“But this vision will not materalise without a plan,” he said, noting that beyond 2025, the new government has set out “the framework to turn ambition into reality”.
He said the critical elements of the plans for Guyana by 2030 includes seamless infrastructure between every region, advancing the new smart city , a shipping and logistic hub linking Brazil and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) “thereby creating new markets and opening up new opportunities”.
He said transformation must drive economic diversification as wwll as human capital development
“Importantly, we will align ourselves with our allies and international partners to cripple trans-national crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking and every act of criminality that threatens or undermines peace, freedom and democracy”.
Ali has pledged that in the next five years, Guyana will convert ambition into action and that the oil and gas sector will continue to grow.
The ONE GUYANA floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel recently joined the Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, and Prosperity FPSOs, raising Guyana’s total production capacity to more than 900,000 barrels of oil per day.
By 2030, ExxonMobil expects Guyana’s offshore developments to reach a combined production capacity of 1.7 million oil-equivalent barrels per day from eight projects. In just five years, the company has successfully brought four complex offshore operations online under budget and ahead of schedule while advancing plans for four more by the end of the decade.
“But why stop there. We will press forward with new explorations under a stronger production sharing agreement ensuring that the benefits are greater, the gains are wider and the weaelth is truly for the people.”
But he said Guyana will not be a one sector nation , adding “we are building a diversified economy that will generate jobs, raise incomes and secure prosperity.
“As part of our commitment to economic diversification, we will strengthen the traditional pillars of our economy, mining, agriculture, fishery and forestry, ensuring that these sectors continue to provide jobs, wealth and stability for our people,” President Ali said.
He said the other plans to cultivate new engines of growth, include world-class tourism, a thriving blue economy, competitive manufacturing, advanced information and communication technology, and dynamic knowledge-based industries.
He said in the next six weeks, planning and preparation will begin for a suie of major projects, including the construction of bridges, a second gas to shore project, the establishment of an economic zone in Berbice as well as the construction of a deep water harbour and a fertilizer and natural gas plant. (CMC)
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