A successful three-day visit to Guyana was concluded Thursday and new President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Mr. Daniel Best departed Guyana following several developmental engagements with the Government.
The visit included the CDB President meeting with President Dr. Irfaan Ali for discussions Thursday morning while on Wednesday, Mr. Best and his team accompanied the Head of State and other Government Ministers to Region Two on a tour of various project sites, during which two educational institutions were commissioned, namely the Exceptional Learners’ Centre a special education school at Cotton Field and the new Onderneeming Primary School. These facilities were both constructed as two of several partnership developmental projects between Government and the CDB.
President Ali, during the opening of the Exceptional Learners’ Centre, reminded parents of the children who will be attending the school, that Government had made a commitment in 2020, noting that the parents’ commitment to their children could hardly be understood by others sometimes but that he had the opportunity as President to sit with them, to listen to them and to hear them in relation to their particular challenges.
“Today as we have committed to you, you have shown that you can trust us, not only to listen to your challenges, but to deliver results to you,” President Ali added.
He also congratulated the teachers, pointing out that Government is on a mission to ensure that all teachers are trained and have the opportunity of being trained graduates free of cost as well, as this was the investment government was making, including providing the opportunity for special needs teachers in Guyana to attain Master’s Degrees in special needs education through access to Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarships.
The CDB President, who delivered remarks at the forum, said his heart was full as it was his immense joy to celebrate the opening of the two schools. He emphasized that the opening of the new learning centre for special needs children is a significant milestone of the Government of Guyana’s commitment under President Ali’s bold leadership to providing inclusive and equitable education for all children, regardless of their abilities as he noted that education is a fundamental right.
During the opening ceremony of the new primary school at Onderneeming Minister Singh, who delivered remarks emphasised that President Ali’s theme of One Guyana isn’t just an abstract philosophical theme, but the concept permeates everything that President Ali’s Government does, and that oneness is expressed through multiple dimensions.
“It is expressed through the beautiful diversity that comprises the rich tapestry that is modern Guyana, our ancestors having come from many parts of the world. It comprises our religious diversity. It is often said that we take for granted the multiple religions worshipping harmoniously together and many other aspects of diversity in the country. “
Dr. Singh added that in terms of education, Government is working to put the infrastructure in place to ensure that every single child, even those who are differently abled, is able to get a good quality primary and secondary education and this is being rolled out across the country.
“We are ramping up our school feeding programme to ensure that our learners have access to a minimum threshold of good nutritional meals, the procurement and distribution of textbooks so that all of students in primary and secondary school have access to a minimum list of mandatory textbooks. That-has never been previously achieved in our country. Today it is being achieved,” the Minister pointed out.
Prior to opening the two new schools, Dr. Singh and a team from the Ministry of Finance met with Mr. Best and his visiting team at the Finance Ministry on Tuesday, where discussions centred on how Government and the Bank could further their collaborative efforts on additional developmental projects in Guyana as the country accelerates its development agenda. Projects already in their implementation stages and their status were also referenced at the meeting, such as the Linden to Mabura Road and the Hospitality and Tourism Training Institute at Port Mourant, Berbice.
During the meeting Dr. Singh welcomed the President and his team on behalf of President Ali and congratulated him on his appointment. He also expressed appreciation for the CDB’s unwavering commitment to development partnership with Guyana and for making Guyana the first country he has visited since his appointment. He also noted that CDB President has been a strong friend to Guyana as he alluded to Guyana being a founding member of the bank and the bank has been a reliable partner.
“Now as we go through this period of transformation and we navigate this very different time in Guyana’s economic history, we look forward to the relationship with the CDB evolving and adapting accordingly. We intend to continue to be active shareholders in the Bank and we continue to look forward to the bank’s active support and partnership,” Dr. Singh added.
For his part, Mr. Best noted that Guyana had to be the first country he visited as President because when he examined the CDB’s Guyana portfolio, Guyana has a special place in terms of the diversity of project and in terms of the scale and of the direction that the economy is trending at this time.
He noted too that importantly, when the geo-political landscape is considered, Guyana has demonstrated that it is a friend of the Caribbean and the journey between Guyana and the CDB will continue as this is a time of boundless opportunities.
The objective of the CDB President and team’s visit was to reaffirm the CDB’s commitment to Guyana and to explore opportunities for expanded partnership in pursuit of national development goals. The visit also provided an opportunity for dialogue between the Bank and the Government of Guyana on the Government’s economic objectives and priorities and how CDB can continue to provide support for these through its assistance and lending programmes (Modified press release from the Ministry of Finance)
