— Ferguson urges at Region Two flag-raising ceremony

GUYANESE were reminded of the significance of Guyana’s republican status, when Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson took the podium last Thursday as she joined the residents of Region Two to usher in the country’s 48th Republic Anniversary with a flag-raising ceremony.

“Fellow Guyanese, being a republic nation means the supreme power rests in all the citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives elected, directly or indirectly, by them and responsible to them. It means that instead of a monarchy, this country is now represented by a President, who is Head-of-State,” Minister Ferguson told the hundreds of residents gathered at the Anna Regina Car Park for the flag-raising ceremony.

In her very detailed address, highlighting Guyana’s rich history from the days of slavery to colonialism to Independence, Minister Ferguson said Republic Day provides an ideal opportunity for Guyanese to reflect on the foundation laid by their forefathers and an even greater opportunity for them to build on what already exists.

“Republic Day is about a national consciousness that I believe has not developed in the best and fullest manner up to this time, but is slowly growing as more and more citizens of this country find a national consciousness and a collective voice,” she said.
The Junior Public Infrastructure Minister said Guyanese have realised the aspirations of their ancestors, but bemoaned that there is much more to be done.

“There is a great responsibility upon us to ensure that its sanctity [is] maintained for the development of our nation so that succeeding generations to come will leave a heritage of continued growth and development,” she said.
The minister told those present that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government has been playing its part in the development of the country since taking office in 2015.

“When APNU+AFC Coalition came in to power in 2015, we were faced with 23 years of corruption under the former regime and we are still cleaning up that mess today. These are the facts friends…. It was former managers of the state apparatus who turned the government into a criminal enterprise, engaged in massive corruption, allegedly facilitated the narcotics trade and was complicit with torture, extrajudicial and death squad killings, jettisoned and politicised the judiciary and Supreme Court Registry, engineered inordinate delays and backlogs in court cases, and generally perverted the course of justice in Guyana,” she summarised.

WILL OVERCOME
Despite its past struggles and disappointment, Guyana, she said, will overcome, noting that it is on the path to greater development.

Pointing to a number of achievements, Minister Ferguson noted that the administration has achieved more than 125 goals since entering office, including the lowering of the Berbice Bridge tolls, a cleaner city, holding Local Government Elections after more than two decades, less piracy and more transparency.

“There has been an increase in salaries for public servants and almost 70,000 persons are exempted from income tax. On the labour front, collective bargaining has been restored with reduced house lot costs, better drainage and irrigation, and more pumps have been installed. After a few years of being in limbo, new telecoms laws have finally been passed, paving the way for new players to enter and compete in the market. More than 98,000 citizens are provided with free Internet and a number of community radio stations in Lethem and Mabaruma, Paiwomak, Annai, and the most recent, Radio Aishalton, while several more are under construction,” she pointed out.

She noted that with the VAT threshold increasing to $15M, several items have become zero-rated. Additionally, VAT has been reduced to 14 per cent from 16 per cent. Guyana, at the end of 2016, recorded the highest gold declaration.

“In addition to the banning of Styrofoam, miners have benefitted from more lands and there is now a permanent home for the Bureau of Statistics. The achievements also included the restoration of professionalism in the public service and government being taken to the people through more outreaches. In the city and its environs, the age-old problem of non-working fire hydrants are being fixed — more than 400 of them have been rehabilitated,” Minister Ferguson added.
In Region Two, residents, she posited, benefitted from a number of infrastructural projects in 2017.

“We have rehabilitated over eight streets… in Bus Shed Street, Queenstown; Middle Street, Queenstown; Church Street, Good Hope; Airy Hall access road, just to name a few. This cost the government $141,595, 090 in 2017. In sea defence we have spent over $85M in Wesbury, Aurora, Supernaam and a number of other areas,” she pointed out while adding that this year the Public Infrastructure Ministry will spend $53B in infrastructural works.
The regional flag-raising ceremony, which entailed the hoisting of the Golden Arrowhead at midnight, was also attended by chairman of Region Two, the Regional Executive Officer, Members of Parliament, regional councillors, members of the private sector and residents of the region.