“EIGHTEEN days to go, 18 days to another PPP/C victory,” President Donald Ramotar told residents of Herstelling on the East Bank of Demerara on Thursday night last. Speaking to the very large crowd that gathered to listen to him, he explained that elections were not due until 2016, but the opposition were using their one- seat majority in parliament to stop the

development of Guyana. He subsequently asked the crowd, “if they would like to return to the era when items such as sardines, milk, oil and flour among others were luxuries.”
President Ramotar said over the last three years, the opposition had stifled development in this country. “Some $89B was cut from the budget in very important areas that were allocated to be spent on the welfare of the people. They set out to deliberately damage Guyana,” he said. This money, he note, could have been spent on making the lives of our people better.
The Head of State noted too that one of the major cuts from the budget was that of the student loan, which the government fought to replace. “The money we were lending students to attend university to make their future better, they [Opposition] cut.”
President Ramotar highlighted the achievements of the education sector, noting the recent $10,000 per child programme and the ongoing hot meals programme. He also noted the free textbook and exercise book distribution and the school uniform vouchers. These programmes, he disclosed, were all implemented to assist parents in having their children remain in school, so that Guyana’s population would be an educated one.
He continued for some time to relate the seminal benefits accruable from the Amaila Falls Hydro Project, and declared that this project was vital for the rapid growth of our economy and further development of Guyana. He asserted that with the return of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Government, he promised that the Amaila Falls Hydro Project will be very high on our agenda, because we need to grow but not by 4.5%. “But with this project, we will grow by 10% or 12%”, he said.
The President noted that “very soon Guyana will become very soon an oil and gas producing country. We are preparing our people for this by providing them with access to technical education.” There are programmes that have been established under the Board of Industrial Training which is part of the Labour Ministry drive presently.
The Head of State noted that in all aspects of this project, “We will create new jobs. We will not be a Third World country that is short of investments, where we will have cheap labour; but we will be able to attract the high-end investments, because we will have a highly educated population [that is] capable of handling sophisticated equipment.”
President Ramotar noted that one major project that seeks to improve further the lifestyles of Guyanese through the development of the Tourism Sector is the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. “In the 2013 budget, the Opposition voted for the new airport and we started to build and in 2014 they voted against giving the money for construction o the airport,” he noted. The President related that with this, the country was set to waste billions of dollars and “produce nothing, because the companies can take legal action against us.”
The President also spoke at length on the consequences the country will face because of the non-passag of the Anti- Money Laundering (AML) Bill; he also explained that the only people set to benefit from the non-passage of the bill were the criminals who are friends of the opposition.
“The international community can blacklist your financial institutions. It is not accidental that they voted against the AML Bill because they have long- standing relationships with criminals. These people do not care for development, they only seek power. I do not want to be president if I cannot do things to uplift the welfare of my people,” he said.
President Ramotar noted that this is because “we have been investing in our people! We are the only country in the Region where more than 30% of our budget goes to the social sector — to education, health, housing and water.”
He re-assured farmers that, under this Government, they will continue to benefit from a higher quality of life. “Not only will we continue to provide the social services for you and your children, but for the sugar industry — the industry that has been responsible for having all our people here. We will ensure the survival of this industry, and, over the next five years, we will invest a minimum of $20B for its survival.”
President Ramotar also disclosed plans for the rice industry. He noted: “We have not forgotten you, but have been fighting for you all along. We will continue to search for higher- paying markets for our rice; we will work to create a system of price support to ensure our farmers have a more predictable and better standard of living,” he said.
He also spoke on the critical importance and absolute imperative of the Specialty Hospital, and how vital it is for the Guyanese people.According to the President, with the establishment of the hospital, “we can promote medical tourism.”
“We in the PPP/C have been standing by you all these years, Stand by the PPP/C, and stand by me and let’s return the PPP/C to a majority Government,” President Ramotar urged his supporters.