“OUR independence struggle had its beginning in Enmore and you have a powerful history, a proud history, a history of struggle and a history of achievement. It is you and Enmore who charged Dr Cheddi Jagan and led him to the direction he took,” said the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) presidential candidate, Donald Ramotar.And the incumbent Head of State, at a public meeting at Robert’s Square, Enmore, last night, called on the residents to be part of a historic struggle once more.
“Now, so many years later, we are again at a crossroad that will decide whether we go forward or backward,” he said.
JUDGE US BY OUR RECORD
According to him, the people of Enmore, as well as Guyanese, must make a judgment come May 11 that protects the future of country. “Judge us by our record, our plans and the character of our people,” he appealed.
“Yes, we have made mistakes. Yes, we have to deal with issues….we will continue to fight,” he assured.
President Ramotar stressed that the record of successive PPP/C administrations “debunk” the arguments of the political opposition on the issues of “management and stewardship” of the country. “We achieved more and our manifesto outlines a clear vision of where we want to go,” he said, referring to the PPP/C manifesto, Guyana 2.0.
According to him, growth, job creation, generation of wealth, the boosting of the manufacturing and tourism, among sectors, a focus on food and energy security are plans that will be bolstered by several transformational infrastructural projects. Among those listed are the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), an all-weather road linking Guyana to Brazil, bridges across the Corentyne and Demerara Rivers and a deep-water harbour at the mouth of the Berbice River. Guyana 2.0 is touted as an interconnected plan – a development thrust that will ensure growth on all fronts, supported by infrastructural advances, which will in turn see the generation of wealth, which will then support efforts to advance better quality of living for the Guyanese people.
COMMITTED TO ENMORE
Enmore’s history with sugar was also a feature of President Ramotar’s appeal to the village’s residents and he made clear his government’s commitment to the industry, which, he said, is reflected in the commitment of an investment of $20B.
“We have to modernise the sugar industry…they said openly that they want to close sugar and rear tilapia and the AFC supported them,” he declared, detailing initiatives to realise new revenue streams and greater advancements for the industry.
Support in the social sectors, for example free education and healthcare, as well as the creation of jobs in Enmore were features of the President’s address.
“We will build a call centre right here…that is important because our population is more and more educated. The investments we are putting in education are paying off…our education standard is going up,” he said.
The PPP/C presidential candidate added that investments in education will allow Guyana to also attract investments that would be able to capitalize on the skills of Guyanese youth that are nurtured by consistent investments.
These, among other developmental advances, President Ramotar said, will be realised once Guyana 2.0 is put in motion. “To do this, we must vote solidly behind the PPP/C come May 11,” he stressed.
On that note, Mr Ramotar highlighted the deceit, anti-people and anti-national disposition of the political opposition, A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC).
“We lost a lot of time and benefits (from the projects we wanted to push forward),” the PPP/C presidential candidate, “This is why I promise you that development will remain at the top of our agenda.”
Mr Ramotar stated that Guyana has glorious possibilities to develop and Guyana 2.0 will ensure that those possibilities are explored.
“We need to put the infrastructure and other things in place to benefit from that potential…these are the things that will make a difference for our people,” he said, adding that not having the prerequisites in place has resulted in losses for Guyana and the Guyanese people.
According to him, the political opposition has attacked every area where PPP/C interventions were aimed, including the protection of Guyana’s financial sector via the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill, which was voted down twice.
“They never one day used their one-seat majority to say that we must do more…never. All they did was to stop development…all of the things we were planning to do were voted down…they cut $89B from the Budget, money that could have been spent on our people,” he said.
The flip-flopping by APNU+AFC on sugar, renewable energy and a number of other initiatives was also underscored by him. “If this was school, they would’ve got a cut-ass for copying from our documents,” he said.
President Ramotar reiterated that the leaders of Guyana after May 11 must be judged by their “record, plans and the character of their people.”
“These elections are crucial elections. These elections will determine which direction we take. Over our years in office we have been the change our country needs….we have fantastic possibilities…we have given you the struggle of the PPP…you the people supported us and won back for us freedom and democracy…we have a lot to protect and we ask that you work with us to protect our gains and help us build on them….on May 11 stand with us,” the PPP/C presidential candidate concluded.