Corbin’s discrimination claim a fallacy – Minister Ali

Allegations by Opposition Leader Robert Corbin of unequal treatment and discrimination have no basis on fact, as Government’s development agenda is based on equity and fairness.
This is according to Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, as he responded to Corbin’s claim that “government propaganda is in high gear in seeking to distort the issue at hand,” insinuating that the Government has been conducting upgrades and infrastructural development in specific communities based on political allegiance and racial composition.
Speaking on a programme on Channel 6 recently, he made reference to Hopetown, West Berbice, where persons stated that they have no access to water and that they were asked to pay $5M to the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI). The Hopetown Housing Cooperative has installed its own pipelines.
Minister Ali indicated that the cost of providing water to 920 house lots is greater than the $5M available and that whenever money for house lots is collected, it must be applied to the responsibilities of preparing the area for habitation. With standard operating procedure applied for all housing schemes, the collected $5M will be used for capital development and investment needed to build the capacity and connect the area with the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) system.
He noted that in the instances of Den Amstel, Bare Root and Linden, significant work has been done in providing facilities for persons living in those communities, with new wells completed at Amelia’s Ward, Manchester, Enmore, Tuschen and a water treatment plant, at Vergenogen.
“What is this fallacy that Mr. Corbin is talking about when saying that inequitable treatment exists?” the Minister queried. He further remarked , “Mr. Corbin is likening the current Administration’s efforts to those of the PNC, when they were in government and exhibited discriminatory and unbalanced practices.”
Minister Ali emphasised, and referenced the position of President Bharrat Jagdeo, stating, “We practice a development agenda based on equity and fairness and when the facts are presented, the Government is vindicated.”
Minister Ali posited that all of the major projects that have transformed the livelihood, living conditions of Guyanese and the society as a whole, came under attack by opposition parties and media houses, but through the commitment of Government to bring them to completion, the structures erected have proven to be successful and are delivering tremendous benefits to the people of Guyana.
He noted that negative points of view are not uncommon, and cited the case of the Berbice River Bridge, which was heavily criticized, but now everyone is enjoying the benefits of the facility. This scenario also applied in the case of the National Stadium at Providence.
The government official reinforced that “We are going to ensure that our development agenda is focused on improving conditions, the delivery of service to people, notwithstanding the propaganda and mischief that the Leader of the Opposition was bent on creating.” (GINA)

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