– With digital financial reforms, hinterland residents could open bank accounts
– Tech Park on the horizon
In the next five years, Guyana will be transformed into an advanced digital economy with data centres and innovation hubs. The government services will be integrated into a digital platform.
This will allow Guyanese, including those in the hinterland and remote areas, to access important government services at their fingertips. Not only will it address bureaucracy, but it will also create an enabling, convenient service access for citizens.
Vice President and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo said these are well-mapped-out strategies.
“We don’t farm out to an individual to generate our plan, or it’s not AI-generated plans for the future,” he told reporters at Freedom House in Georgetown on Thursday.
Harnessing cheap electricity from the 300 megawatt (MW) Gas-to-Energy plant in Wales, Dr Jagdeo said the government aims to create an Innovation Village that would host a range of tech sectors like FinTech, AI, and software development.
He recalled that during his presidency, talks were initiated with India to establish a tech park.
“At that time, AI wasn’t such a big thing, but now we may be able to advance the concept of the Tech Park into an innovation village, where the government invests in basic infrastructure like we are doing. Like we’re spending now $6 billion at Foulis on the East Coast Demerara to build the roads and the park…. for manufacturing and other things. We can easily do that for tech services,” he highlighted.
According to him, once this village is established, foreign and local companies could train Guyanese workers to support the digital transformation efforts.
He stressed, “That’s going to be in our manifesto too. I didn’t see the others talking about it, but we are putting that in our manifesto. That’s a major thing for those who want to go into the advanced technology sector.”
Notably, the vice president said, he is eager for the rollout of mobile banking and simplified financial services, especially in rural and hinterland communities. The Central Bank-led reforms will encourage commercial banks to adopt modern tools that provide easy access to financing, reduce in-person visits, and streamline banking.
“Just imagine people from the hinterland or anyone on the coast, you don’t have to go into banks and all of that. It’s something that I am anxiously waiting for us to roll out. We have been planning for it,” he said.
Steps are already being taken to support paperless airports, with immigration forms now available to travelers. The government is also aiming to establish world-class scanners at all ports of entry, as part of its digitization of immigration services.
There will also be surveillance and facial recognition in policing and online government services (e.g., police records, birth certificates).
In the area of National Security and Sovereignty Protection, he mentioned that the government will invest heavily in tech-enabled security, including drone technology to patrol borders, maritime zones, and real-time surveillance for illegal mining, logging, drug trafficking, and fishing.
Importantly, it will provide enhanced support for the army and police to safeguard natural resources and territorial integrity.
AI will also play a critical role in transforming social services, as online platforms will enable personalised education for students and enhance modern healthcare delivery.
The vice president underscored that, “we are not looking at the society of the future in a static way.”
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