Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has called on citizens to shift their focus from trivial social media debates like the meaning of “scrape-head” to more productive matters such as discussions about policies that affect country’s future.
Speaking at his press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo laid out the People’s Progressive Party government’s ambitious vision for Guyana’s digital transformation, one he says will open up thousands of new opportunities for young people. He pointed to opportunities in technology, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.
“This is a crucial qualitative issue of financial inclusion in the economy. This is not just the financial inclusion and literacy we spoke about before, this is financial empowerment,” Jagdeo said.
He added, “Just imagine young people now thinking about the future, or anybody who wants to train, with our plan for a digital society all the things we are doing, putting together the building blocks.”
The Vice President pointed to several key initiatives already underway, including the digitization of government services, facial recognition infrastructure, AI-driven education tools, and automation projects at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
He noted that these efforts are aimed not only at improving service delivery but also at preparing the workforce for the emerging digital economy.
To this end, Jagdeo addressed the public distraction caused by the recent online debate surrounding the term “scrape head,” a slang that gained attention.
He criticized how much time was being spent on the issue, urging citizens to focus on matters of national importance.
“Too often, every day we are discussing what’s the meaning of ‘scrape head,’… I’ve seen that for the last week people trying to get a definition for scrape head. We really should be focusing on sharing our ideas on these issues,” the Vice President said.
Further, he stressed that the PPP’s goal in the next term is to move beyond physical infrastructure and into the qualitative issues that will define Guyana’s future.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done to get this happening. We have to modernize the mindset of people including in the state sector to create frameworks, and push innovation,” he noted.
