Dear Editor,
This week, President Irfaan Ali swore in ten new puisne judges, eight of whom are female judges. Not so long ago, Janet Jagan, Guyana’s first female President, appointed Desiree Bernard as Guyana’s first female chancellor and she became the first female judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). The swearing in was another example of Guyana ensuring equal rights of women, further shattering the glass-ceiling. I extend my congratulations to all the new judges and wish them well in their service to our beautiful country.
Our amazing country has positioned itself as a leader in food, climate and environmental and energy security. As small as we are, we have become a critical part of the equation to secure global food security, global climate and environmental security and energy security. We have shown that the right policies and with world-class public servants, not only can we help to achieve food, climate and environmental and energy security, but that we can grow our economy at a sustained unprecedented rate.
Guyana has become a model country for and a rare country in which carbon credit sales have become a meaningful part of our economy. While it is foolish not to recognize the significance of oil and gas in the unprecedented growth of our GDP, we must not lose sight of the government’s aggressive policy directions to achieve a diversified economy. Agriculture was the mainstay of Guyana’s economy in the colonial days and maintained this position post-independence. Now post-oil and gas, agriculture has repositioned itself to remain a foundation of the economy.
With new crops and better production of the old crops, Guyana is poised to show the world that agriculture remains a viable leader of an economy. Long after oil and gas, agriculture will continue to be Guyana’s mainstay in the economy.
Sincerely,
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
