Ramotar pleased with first-year progress

– but calls for more cooperation to move country forward

President Donald Ramotar

President Donald Ramotar said that he has managed to sustain the work started by the previous PPP/C administrations, catering for the social and educational needs of citizens, as he reflected on his first year in office.
The first Guyanese president to lead a minority government, Ramotar told media operatives that  since he was sworn in as Guyana’s seventh executive president, he  has been pleased with the work done to improve and develop the education, health and housing sectors, and ultimately, the growth of the economy.
However, despite government’s achievements for the year, President Ramotar believes there is room for more to be done to push Guyana’s developmental agenda.
“We need cooperation of all Guyanese, regardless of political views and aspirations. The most important thing that we are in this business for is to try to develop and help our people improve the quality of life for our people. If we work on that philosophy, I’m sure we can find agreements and build our country stronger,” the head of state noted.
Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali has pointed out that December 3 is a significant day in Guyana’s history. He noted that it is a day to “celebrate one of your (President Ramotar’s) commitments to social development, your commitment to ensuring Guyanese have access to housing and Guyanese are afforded – every single person is afforded the opportunity of owning their own home and advancing their livelihoods and their family’s prospects.”
Human Services and Social Security Minister Jennifer Webster congratulated the president on his one-year milestone, commending him on ensuring political consensus within the National Assembly.
The People’s Progressive Party said the accomplishments of President Ramotar and his team have been many and wide-ranging and are even more significant when contrasted with the challenging political atmosphere created by the opposition alliance of the Alliance For Change and A Partnership for National Unity. “A hallmark of his presidency has been his determination to advance the continued economic growth and development of Guyana for all citizens. Key to this has been the acceleration of projects which are the pillars for the next stage of Guyana’s advancement, such as the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the Amaila Falls Hydro project.”
The party of which Ramotar is the general secretary said the president’s vision to prepare Guyana for a brighter future and to ensure that “we are organised to maximise benefits from new and emerging sectors such as oil and gas, along with traditional ones such as mining saw the creation of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.”

People’s president
During the past 12 months, President Ramotar has underlined the fact that he is the people’s president by reaching out to each and every group with a view of addressing their concerns. At the political level, he has signalled his interest in building consensus to advance the nation’s business and established a tri-partite committee of political leaders. He has underlined his commitment and continued willingness to engage these leaders despite challenges as highlighted by efforts to stagnate government’s business in the National Assembly, the PPP said.
According to the party, during his tenure at the helm of our nation, government’s partnership with the private sector has been further strengthened, with the business community and organisations playing a more visible role in articulating their positions on national issues and in advancing their agenda to improve the nation’s business climate.
Additionally, the private sector benefited from a reduction in the corporate tax during Ramotar’s first year in office. During this period, the president has also underlined that one of his key priorities is the working class by increasing the tax threshold for workers, increasing the minimum wage for several categories of workers, increasing benefits for pensioners, and ensuring that sugar workers and public servants benefitted from increases in wages and salaries for this year.