REITERATING that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) is about peace, progress and prosperity, party General Secretary, Clement Rohee urged Annandale residents to vote resoundingly for the ruling party on May 11.

This, he said, is necessary to secure the future of their children and enable further development of Guyana.
Rohee said Guyana needs more jobs, more housing and a stable economy, and the PPP/C since coming to power in 1992 has created the environment for all of this to happen. Guyana has enjoyed nine years of consecutive growth.

But he added that the country has a far way to go and should be going forward, not backward. He told the sizeable gathering at the Annandale Market Square on Wednesday that it was the PPP/C which had hauled Guyana out of hopelessness and abject poverty in 1992.
In 1992, he continued, when the ruling party assumed power, its goals and objectives were to rebuild Guyana and since then, it has done tremendously in modernising and positioning this country on the path for a bright future.
The A Partnership For National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, which is hoping to dislodge the ruling party at the May 11 polls, has focused its campaign on the slogan, “It is time for change.”
But Rohee told the Annandale residents that the PPP/C is the agent of change, as it has transformed the country from a state of bankruptcy in 1992 to the road of prosperity in 2015.
Telling the gathering not to trust the alliance, the PPP General Secretary said some of the very people in the APNU+AFC alliance who are calling for change, are the people who have experienced the transformation of Guyana under the PPP/C Government.
And it was a movement from the state of decay left by the People’s National Congress (PNC) in 1992, to a more unified and significantly better Guyana today.
After assuming the reins of power, Rohee said the PPP/C was beset with a host of challenges, noting that it had to deal with an almost empty treasury and collapsing industries.
Guyana during that time he said, imported rice from Italy and sugar from Guatemala, and citizens had to get permission from the Bank of Guyana if they were leaving the country with US$15 and more.
Not credit worthy

Worst yet, Guyana was deemed uncreditworthy by the international financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
These were among the many challenges the PPP/C had to address when it assumed power, Rohee said, telling the gathering that it had weathered the storm, including the storm orchestrated by the PNC to remove the Government from office through protests, looting and burning.
The PPP/C, he said is proud of its track record in Government, and the party is proud of its achievements. The same, he said, cannot be said of the PNC, which now controls the APNU+AFC Alliance.
He said when the PNC was in Government, it rigged elections after elections to stay in power and murdered and brutalised any who opposed their terrorism and oppression.
APNU+AFC Deputy Leader Moses Nagamootoo, Rohee said suffered from the thuggery but today, he has “sold his soul” in a desperate quest for political power.
The quest, Rohee said, began during the 10th Parliament when he (Nagamootoo) and Granger started to “tackle” each other.
According to Rohee, he “don’t mind people business,” but Granger and Nagamootoo were acting for all to see.
Like the nation, he said, he got to believe that the “love” between Granger and Nagamootoo had chemistry when the two of them ignored every other day, and chose to “marry” on Valentine’s Day.
Contending that the relationship between the duo is a complex one, the PPP General Secretary said he is not absolutely certain who has control over who in the relationship, but he knows beyond a shadow of doubt that Nagamootoo has betrayed his former mentor, leader and guide, Dr. Cheddi Jagan.
Dr. Jagan, he said, would have never sided with oppressors to gain power, but Nagamootoo is doing it, plus he is using Dr. Jagan’s name to push his narrow cause.
The people, Rohee said, must teach Nagamootoo and company a lesson on May 11, but advised them that to effectively do that, all of them will have to come out and vote.
He urged the women to ensure that their husbands do not drink on the eve of Elections Day, and for them to wake up early on voting day.
Vote early

The PPP/C General Secretary told the gathering that they must go early to the polls and see that their neighbours, relatives and friends do the same.
Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall was also firm is his call for supporters to vote resoundingly for the PPP/C on May 11.
May 11, he said is “no joke,” as every vote for the PPP/C is vital to not only returning the PPP/C to Government, but also to enable it to regain a majority in Parliament.
He told the Annandale residents that during the 10th Parliament, APNU with the support of the AFC “slashed and burned” several transformational projects in their attempt to derail the Government’s developmental agenda.
The Amaila Falls Project and the Amerindian Development Fund, he said, were among the many initiatives to create jobs and ensure a better Guyana, but they were guillotined without proper reason.
He said wide support for the PPP/C on May 11 is necessary to end this “tyranny” that is typical of the PNC.
Granger and Nagamootoo, Nandlall added too have been making big promises on the campaign trail, but urged that they not be trusted.
Undemocratic behaviour
He said their undemocratic behaviour in the 10th Parliament, where they voted down projects that would have created jobs and improve the lives of citizens, is sufficient reason they should be rejected.
The Attorney General told the gathering that if Granger could deny that there was no rigging of elections under the PNC, they should imagine what the APNU+AFC leader will do if he gets into power.
Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO) General Secretary, Sheila Veerasammy also addressed the meeting. She told the residents that Guyana is at a juncture where it should not be going backward, but should be going forward.
She said when the PNC was in power; its leaders did not only rig elections to stay in office, but also banned basic food items.
Veerasammy said that it was a criminal act for persons to have flour, dhal, potato and several items in their possession, pointing out that no caring Government would criminalise food and watch the nation’s children get “white mouth” and “beri beri.”
Under the PPP/C Government, she said, Guyana has been transformed tremendously. She contended that more schools have been built; students are excelling at their examinations; there is a better health care system; there is access to potable water and significantly more Guyanese have their own homes.
She urged the residents to vote solidly for the PPP/C on May 11 to enable progress and development to continue.

By Tajeram Mohabir