THE People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has deemed promises made by Opposition Leader David Granger on a recent visit to the Essequibo Coast as empty overtures, designed to “pull wool” over the eyes of Essequibians.The Opposition Leader, during the visit to the Essequibo Coast, told residents there that if elected to office, he will bring economic and education reforms to Region 2 (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

But PPP General Secretary, Clement Rohee said the pledges made by Granger must be taken with a pinch of salt.

“Our nation’s history will reveal innumerable instances of empty promises that Party made to the people of this country. Empty promises became synonymous with the PNC’s misrule, which paralleled extravagance. Despite these promises, all would recall that at the end of the PNC regime in 1992, Essequibians had to traverse a dam from Supenaam to Charity; other physical and social infrastructure collapsed; and electricity was sparsely available, while non-existent in the islands of Leguan and Wakenamm,” Rohee noted.
He reminded also that during that time, medical and educational facilitates were in a deplorable state, and thousands of acres of farmlands which were pivotal to the livelihoods of residents had to be abandoned.
These factors, he said, plummeted the standard of living for residents and increased the indignity they suffered.
This unfortunately, the PPP General Secretary contended, has branded Essequibo as the “Cinderella County”, much to the humiliation of the residents there.
Only last year in the National Assembly, Granger had proclaimed that he wants to see more development in the west of Guyana, in which Essequibo nestles, but within a few days, along with the rest of the Opposition, voted to cut billions from the National Budget.
The money slashed included sums for continuous development in Essequibo and for Amerindian communities within.
Last Monday, Granger had told the public meeting at Charity Waterfront that in the Pomeroon, internal roads are needed to better facilitate marketing and distribution of agriculture produce.
And on that score, he promised to resuscitate the New Guyana Marketing Corporation facility at Charity so as to assist farmers to have better marketing and distribution facilities for their produce.
HALLMARK

Maintaining that empty promises are a hallmark of the People’s National Congress (PNC), Rohee warned Essequibians not to put trust in Granger.
“The dam from Supenaam to Charity was also stigmatised as an ‘abortion trail’ for the rollercoaster-like ride it offered. History would show that during that period, there was only one bus, which offered one trip in the early morning to board the ferry and if that was missed, it was a few days wait for the next.
“While time and space would be constrained to cite more examples, those mentioned encapsulate the indignity the PNC reduced Essequibo to. Today, through commitment and vision of our party, the stigma of ‘Cinderella County’ has been erased from Essequibo. There is now a paved thoroughfare from Supenaam to Charity completely devoid of any semblance of a rollercoaster-like ride. The concern now is speeding and fairly high rates of fatal accidents. While there is more to be done, farmers in Essequibo have been able to return to the land, cultivating thousands and thousands of acres, creating employment and contributing immensely to the continuous breaking of records in rice production; with over 600,000 tons in 2015,” the PPP General Secretary said.
The Supenaam to Charity thoroughfare, many farm-to-market roads were built and others rehabilitated, providing convenience and increased production for farmers.
Rohee said under the current administration, the expansion of the provision of primary healthcare and the banking sector, the building of new schools and refurbishing of existing ones, the establishment of a technical institute, new stelling and ferries with a minimum of two trips per day, the vast improvements in electricity supply despite some challenges with a now 24-hour supply in Leguan and Wakenaam, new fire and police stations and the expansion of communications services have restored the dignity of the people there.
“The fact that students from Essequibo have topped our country and the Region over the recent years, exemplifies the transformation of our largest county over the years and a demonstration of the pride that has been restored. It is the PPP and the commitment and hard work of the people of Essequibo that have allowed them to take their rightful place in our country’s development,” Rohee contended.

(By Tajeram Mohabir)