PPP/C promises to review VAT (22 or 24 point)
-hold Local Government elections within a year
A PPP/C Government under Donald Ramotar will see a review of Guyana’s taxation systems, including the Value Added Tax (VAT), and continued management of the economy to ensure growth, preservation of debt sustainability and facilitate a complete transformation of the productive sectors.

This is according to the PPP/C Manifesto for the upcoming elections, which Presidential Candidate, Mr. Donald Ramotar last evening presented at the Princess Hotel during a gala fund-raising dinner, which in some respects could be termed a birthday celebration in his honour, yesterday being his birthday.

“[There will be] continuous review of our taxation system including the VAT, to ensure it remains competitive and is effective in promoting growth, initiative, and welfare, by identifying and implementing further reforms to broaden the taxpayer base, reduce effective rates especially to the most vulnerable, and raise administrative efficiency of the Revenue Authority,” the document said.

The new Government under Ramotar, the document says, will continue to manage the economy prudently and soundly, with the principal aims being accelerated real economic growth, and preservation of debt sustainability “by ensuring a steady decline in the fiscal deficit, and prudent incurrence of new debt, and maintaining external sustainability by promoting rapid growth in exports and reduced dependence on imported inputs especially fossil fuels and food items.”

A Ramotar-led government, the PPP/C promises, will also facilitate a complete transformation of the productive sectors “with the aim of creating more jobs and generating more wealth, by encouraging faster growth in such labour  and skill-intensive sectors as information and communication technology, large-scale agriculture and agro-processing and sustainable harvesting of our country’s vast natural resources.”

The Party, through its Manifesto, further promises to improve the environment for doing business, through the use of information technology, reducing costs and improving the ease with which the business community can execute transactions with Government agencies.

It also plans seeking to secure the long-term strength and stability of the financial system, “by consolidating financial sector supervision and extending the regulatory perimeter of the Bank of Guyana to include all entities providing financial services, reviewing all financial sector supervision and regulation legislation, and strengthening supervisory capabilities.”

The new government, under Ramotar, will seek to improve the ease with which credit can be accessed by the private sector, including by facilitating the establishment of a credit bureau. It will also continue to work with financial institutions on making credit affordable to small and medium-sized businesses and improve the ease with which financing can be raised on the capital market by the business community, including by incentivising more companies to go public. The Government will also ensure the existence of an exchange that promotes good corporate governance and provides effective investment intermediation, as well as seek to reduce the costs and improve the efficiency and timeliness with which commercial disputes are resolved by strengthening the commercial court.

There will also be a strengthening of public financial management, with special emphasis on increasing competition and efficiency in the public procurement process, and improving project execution capabilities, along with strengthening of monitoring and evaluation capabilities.

Greater use will also be made of E-governance mechanisms to better manage the provision of government services.

Transport infrastructure

“Looking ahead, in the area of transport infrastructure, the next PPP/Civic administration will work with our neighbours to further enhance continental opportunities, especially through the construction of a bridge across the Corentyne River, upgrading the Linden to Lethem Road, and constructing a deep-water harbour, thereby enhancing trade and economic activity with our neighbours along with making Guyana a more attractive destination for investors seeking to penetrate the continental market,” the Manifesto said.

It will seek to improve the ease with which people and goods can be transported domestically by further upgrading the internal highway network, including completion of four-lane highways on the East Bank and East Coast Demerara, upgrade the West Coast Demerara highway to cater for increased traffic, and examine the possibility of establishing rail links along main corridors such as the East Bank and East Coast Demerara and from Linden to Lethem “whilst paying particular attention to environmental sustainability and the rights of our indigenous peoples.”

Improved access to international air travel is also on the cards, through the extension of the runway at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport to accommodate larger aircraft, and building a modern terminal at the site thereby enabling Guyana to become a key hub for air traffic through our region and beyond, the Manifesto said.

It said Guyana’s ports, harbours, and stellings will be upgraded, and current fleet of vessels for riverain transport will be augmented.

The Government under Donald Ramotar will examine the feasibility of rehabilitating and/or building new bridges that serve as important links across the rivers within Guyana, including the Demerara and  Canje Rivers.

Electricity

According to the document, over the next five years, the government will bring electricity to every single Guyanese household, by extending the national grid to include all new housing developments, unserved and hinterland areas.

It promises to transform Guyana into a country that meets almost its entire national demand for electric energy from renewable sources, by completing the Amaila Falls hydropower project. It will also seek to improve efficiency in the national grid by completing the upgrade of the transmission network.
The Manifesto said that the new Government under Donald Ramotar will develop Guyana’s capacity to supply nearby export markets, by facilitating a second large-scale, privately-financed hydropower project.

Using renewable sources, including bio-fuels, mini-hydropower plants where feasible and household photovoltaic panels where more appropriate, bring electricity to every home in Guyana’s hinterland.

The Government will develop and promote an energy efficiency policy aimed at encouraging more responsible and efficient use of electric energy by industrial, corporate, and household consumers, including through public education and other incentives to motivate energy-efficient behaviour.

It promises to make Guyana a country that produces sufficient power to meet the needs of the manufacturing, agro-processing and minerals processing sectors such as alumina and aluminium production.

Modernising education

The PPP/C’s new term in office, under Donald Ramotar, will see the construction and equipping of information technology laboratories throughout the education system, and the revising of curricula of the government technical institutes to equip students with related IT skills critical for this new sector.

The Government will seek to achieve universal secondary education, by ensuring sufficient secondary school places are available in all the regions of Guyana, providing dormitory facilities where necessary, and implementing a school transportation programme for the poor where this is an impediment. It will place emphasis on raising quality, including conducting reviews and implementing necessary reforms to curricula to ensure relevance and effectiveness, and upgrading teaching methods. It will embed information and communication technology into the learning process, by computerising the classroom.

There will be special emphasis on strengthening foreign language teaching both in the school system, including at the primary school level, and for the public at large, with special emphasis on Spanish and Portuguese, “reflecting our country’s continental prospects.”

It will also strengthen the special needs education system, and “ensuring that those who are differently abled are still empowered to achieve personal fulfilment and make a contribution to productive effort.”

Housing

On the critical subject of housing, Government aims to distribute another 30,000 new house lots, including a special remigrant housing scheme and other special programmes for young professionals and single persons.

Government aims to work with stakeholders to further improve access to financing for home construction, “including by examining ways in which the low-income housing programme can be modified to further serve this objective.”

According to the Manifesto, Government will examine ways for modifying the programme to make middle-income loans eligible for some relief also, “thereby making it easier for young professionals and other middle-income earners to access loans for home ownership.”

Its aim is to also further improve administrative processes, thereby reducing the time taken for the granting of titles.