… President Jagdeo speaks of struggling to pay foreign debt since 1992, and declassified documents calling PPP policies ‘too progressive’
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo said yesterday that despite the murmurings of critics, the Port Mourant market serves a useful purpose for everyone since it helps to create livelihoods. He commissioned the market yesterday and spoke with the residents and stallholders about plans for the area.
He brushed off a newspaper insinuation that the structure was not being put to the intended use and said that it has been built for the people.
He noted that the PPP administration is committed to doing what it takes to help people. He said that for this, the Government should not be thanked, since it is doing its duty to the people. But while the Government has provided a place for the vendors to ply their trade, the President said he expects them to take up space offered in the market and to get off the side of the road. He cited the people of Essequibo for being exemplars of keeping their neighbourhoods clean and he encouraged Berbicians to do the same.
He said that the Government is still considering a plan to expand the market, but for this to happen, some of the residents in close proximity to the structure must agree to sell their properties in order to make way for the expansion.
The President spoke of the three lost decades under the PNCR and said that the country now has to play catch up.
He noted the struggles of the country under colonial rule and the efforts of the PPP to break the yoke of that rule through their fight for independence. He said that now declassified and released documents have confirmed the intentions of the west during the turbulent days of the 1960s. “They thought our policies were too progressive,” he said.
“I am impatient because we have lost so much time,” said the President. “We have to play catch up. This is why we need to push every single day to make things work.”
The President said that the country has paid back some US $1.6 billion in foreign debt since the Government took office in 1992. “We have been struggling for 10 – 15 years, trying to bring our country on an even keel,” he said.
According to the President, the country is “decent.” But he asked: “Do we want to stay there?”
He spoke of the development of housing schemes and noted the initiative to make available house lots for 1,000 remigrants. He said at the moment, there are over 1,000 applications by remigrants for the house lots set aside for them. He said because of the vagaries of the financial crisis in the developed world, persons may be of a mind to move back home.
The President also encouraged the Berbicians to learn about the computer since although the traditional economic sectors have served well, the future will be about other sectors. He also updated the citizenry on the progress being made with the fibre-optic cable being sourced from Brazil and which will be providing internet communication services. He also spoke of the Government’s intention to provide computers to 90,000 of the poorest households within the coming few years.