PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the PPP/C, Donald Ramotar, has said that under his presidency, mining will be further developed, since he sees it as one of the industries that have the greatest impact on the economy. He made this comment as he sought to further reassure Bartica residents that the mining industry, in which most Barticians are engaged, would be protected.
He was speaking at a grand rally held in Bartica yesterday. The list of speakers included Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai, Transport Minister Robeson Benn, and President Bharrat Jagdeo. Notably absent was incumbent Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, the current prime ministerial candidate on the PPP/C list. PM Hinds is representing President Bharrat Jagdeo in Uruguay in handing over the presidency of UNASUR.
Addressing the audience, Ramotar said he would be “a perfect jackass” if he were to promote policies that would be inimical to the mining sector, which is such a high income earner and employment generator for the country. “We see mining as a very important growth pole for the country’s development,” he said.
Ramotar spoke of the plans currently in train for the mining and quarry sectors. He noted that President Jagdeo has signed a number of agreements that will see further investments and job creation in gold and other mining.
Speaking on the same issue, President Jagdeo said it was possible to develop mining while ensuring that the environment is not degraded as a result of the mining activities.
Transport and Hydraulics Minister Robeson Benn, himself a former Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), reiterated that no person would be prohibited from carrying on their mining activities because of the new environmental safeguards now in place.
Benn was chairman of the Special Land Use Committee created to examine how mining could be made to co-exist successfully with forestry, given Guyana’s commitments under the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
He said that under the presidency of Donald Ramotar, mining will grow from strength to strength. He also spoke of exciting developments in the petroleum sector, which he said has the potential to see the creation of some 3,000 jobs over a period of about two years.
Earlier in the afternoon, President of the Guyana Small and Medium Sized Miners’ Association, Frederick McWilfred, addressed the gathering. He had, in early 2010, been instrumental in organising a massive protest against the proposed changes in mining regulations, which miners had felt would have been detrimental to their profession. Now a member of the PPP/C, McWilfred spoke of the hope for a brighter future under a Ramotar presidency.
Ramotar spoke of the continued progress of the Amaila Falls Hydro project, and said that this would increase the prospect of job creation, since the manufacturing industry would be able to take off as a result of the cheaper electricity the project would bring.
He also spoke of the possibilities of co-generation in bagasse and rice, and said that with the abundance of sunlight from Guyana being just above the equator, solar energy would be harnessed to augment the forms of renewable power at the country’s disposal.
On education, the presidential candidate said that Guyana is close to the point of delivering universal secondary education; and he promised that, under a Donald Ramotar presidency, this would be a reality in Guyana.
He spoke of the more than 1,000 schools built since 1992, and said that the work the government did in the early days after returning to office has begun to pay off.
He attacked the credibility of his former party member and now Alliance For Change (AFC) member, Moses Nagamootoo, calling him a liar for statements that he is reported to have made about his nominating Ramotar for the post of general secretary of the PPP. He said Nagamootoo had done nothing for the party in almost 15 years, and he made the point that Nagamootoo was near the point of crossing the floor since 1979.
Ramotar also attacked the credibility of Raphael Trotman of the AFC by saying that, when he was in the executive of the PNC, he never spoke out against the riots in the streets after the 1997 and 2001 elections. Moreover, he challenged the AFC to come clean on the sources of their funds for the elections campaign.
Speaking to residents of Bartica and other communities of Region 7, President Bharrat Jagdeo declared himself happy to see so many of whom he termed members of a family. He also welcomed those he called new members to this family. “Within the PPP family, there is a place for everyone,” he said, speaking directly to those who might have been at one time supporting another political movement.
“You have to believe that our best days are ahead of us…if we elect Donald Ramotar,” he said to the residents.
The president lashed out again at the critics of the government and at the opposition, saying that the party is not a weak-hearted one, and will defend itself when criticised. “We will fight those who try to destroy our dreams,” he said. “But we are not just about criticising people, we have plans for Guyana,” the president said.
He spoke of the Bartica massacre, which he said was still fresh in the minds of the residents of Bartica; and he lashed out at the sympathizers of the criminals who carried out the heinous act in early 2008. He continued his tirade against lawyers whom he said make  careers of defending drug dealers. He warned the Barticians that some of these people are members of the opposition parties, and as such they should not be supported because of their links. “We have to make sure that we do not allow them to succeed,” the president said.
He said that the country must not be pulled down the line of racism, and he denounced the statement that Nigel Hughes made in response to his attack against him at the Lusignan rally last Sunday. He said that the AFC leadership must speak out against this if it is to be credible. “We need to go after them for these things,” he said.