Guyana’s development will continue – VP Jagdeo affirms

Guyana will persist in advancing its development as the government strives to deliver progress to the people of the country.

Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo during his weekly media conference on Thursday at the Office of the President, reiterated that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will not succeed in his attempt to stymie development here.

“If we pause any of our development, Maduro succeeds. Maduro has no right in international law to tell the people of Guyana, a sovereign country, how to pursue its affairs, and that is why we are forging ahead with our development in all 83,000 square miles of this country, we are forging ahead,” the vice president told media operatives.

Dr Jagdeo noted that the government is continuing to work on its developmental programmes in every sector and is presently deeply engaged in budget preparation

“If we get paralysed by this as government then we will fall prey to what he is trying to achieve. When I said we are in enhanced operational mode, you have a group of the highest level of government dedicated to this issue, but also, we are not taking our attention off of what we are elected to do in this country, which is govern and to enhance benefits to people,” the vice president noted.

He also noted the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF), report which was favourable for the Guyanese economy.  

The report indicates that the nation’s medium-term prospects for growth and development are currently the most favorable compared to any previous period.

The report also heralds Guyana’s success in containing inflation despite significant spending on capital initiatives, compared to some countries where inflation has surged due to reduced public expenditure.

“We had a massive increase in public expenditure, a supermassive increase in private investments, these all cause an upward trend in cost. Notwithstanding all of that with the inflationary pressures we have contained inflation,” the vice president pointed out.

The report highlighted the major steps the government has taken to enhance the framework for transparency and management of the oil and gas sector.

“We’re focused on the economy; we are not taking our eyes off the economy. We are delivering on our social goods, making sure that the twelve hospitals we are building go ahead…We are not stopping on those issues,” Guyana’s vice president affirmed.