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— President Ali to outline bold five-year transformation strategy in upcoming address to National Assembly PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali is expected to address a subsequent sitting of the National Assembly, where he will present an ambitious strategy and detailed policy agenda aimed at transforming Guyana over the next five years. The Head of State said on Monday that his forthcoming address to the 13th Parliament will provide a comprehensive vision for Guyana’s development, with a strong focus on economic expansion, social advancement, and national resilience. He intends to outline the government’s approach to achieving rapid but sustainable growth through major infrastructural investments and sectoral diversification. President Ali said the next five years will be among the most transformative in Guyana’s history, describing them as “enormous years ahead of us” that will be “very transformative” and “very aggressive.” “Massive infrastructure, but infrastructure leading to growth and expansion of our economy, infrastructure leading to the opening up of new opportunities, new lands, and expanded social programmes. Of course, defining a path in the next five years that will lead to resilience and sustainable development,” he said. Over the next five years, the administration intends to pursue a development model centred on large-scale infrastructural projects that stimulate growth and open new opportunities across the country. These initiatives are expected to unlock access to new lands, support the expansion of social programmes and strengthen the foundations for long-term economic resilience. “What you will see is the action plan, the actionable agenda, the framework that will be presented and, of course, debated on how we’re going to achieve these targets. “What are the programmes and the policies we’re going to pursue to increase disposable income, empower people, build prosperity, expand housing, improve water supply, give world-class health care and education services, create new employment, generate new industries, expand the economy, diversify our economic platform, build financial capability, deal with issues of migration and ensure that we have a secure country, internal security, and the security of our borders, ”the President said. The President’s address will build on commitments already set out in the governing party’s manifesto, translating them into an actionable framework to be presented and debated in the National Assembly. This framework is expected to highlight key programmes and policies designed to increase disposable income, create employment and promote prosperity nationwide. Among the government’s priority areas will be the expansion of housing, improvements in water supply, and the provision of world-class healthcare and education services. Efforts will also focus on generating new industries, boosting financial capacity, managing migration challenges, and enhancing both internal and border security. “I wanted the Parliament to have its day today, to have the MPs sworn in and then subsequently, at some point, to have all of the administrative issues completed, which includes the election of an Opposition Leader and so on. “And after all of that is completed, I definitely will be addressing Parliament in a substantive way, outlining the vision, outlining the strategy and outlining where we want to position Guyana for all of that by 2030.” This year, Guyana’s economy has seen a 7.5 percent growth. According to the Ministry of Finance’s 2025 mid-year report, the non-oil economy saw a growth spurt too of 13.8 percent. The revised forecast for 2025 projects overall real GDP growth at 15.2 percent and non-oil real GDP growth at 13.9 percent. Agriculture, including the fishing, and forestry sub-sectors, expanded by an estimated nine percent in the first half of the year, with significant gains in the sugar industry at 136.7 per cent , rice 13.9 per cent, and livestock 11.7 per cent industries, while forestry grew modestly by 6.2 per cent. The extractive industries recorded broad-based growth of 5.9 per cent, driven by petroleum 5.5 per cent, with a full-year projection of 15.6 per cent, bauxite 133.1 per cent, gold 10.9 per cent , and other mining 24.2 per cent. Manufacturing rose by 26.8 percent in the first half and is expected to grow by 14.9 percent for the year. The services sector expanded by 6.6 percent, with a projected annual growth of 8.6 percent, while construction grew by 29.9 percent, buoyed by public and private investments and is forecast to expand by 26.2 percent overall in 2025.
