FORMER President Bharrat Jagdeo said the Opposition’s criticism that the PPP/Civic (PPP/C) is extravagant, is misguided, pointing out that attention should the placed on the People’s National Congress (PNC) regime in the 1970s.

According to Jagdeo, unlike former President Dr Cheddi Jagan and himself who used to be accompanied by hardly more than four persons on overseas assignments, former PNC President Forbes Burnham had an assembly of 136.
Jagdeo said what was glaringly extravagant about the Burnham Government was that the team used to utilise the country’s only airline, which was customised to accommodate beds, a cooking area and stacks of alcohol.
All this happened while the country was starving, Jagdeo said, as he warned the electorate about Granger, who was then a close member of the Burnham administration.
Granger, he said, is a loyal Burnham disciple, who is still stuck in the thinking of National Service and other failed policies in the 1970s.
These, he said, will not change Guyana, noting that today it is a completely different era, and any party stuck in the past is not capable of leading the country into the future.
The old PNC thinking, he said is manifest in the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (AFC+APNU) organisational structure.
“Who wants three vice-presidents?” he questioned, asking “for what?” Then answering: “To use them as bait to catch fish?” evoking laughter in the gathering at the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO) ‘Night of Reflection’ held on the lawns of State House on Friday.

SOPHISTICATED CONFIGURATION

He said the PPP is not about sophisticated configuration, but about serving the people, and that is why it is going to the May 11 polls with President Donald Ramotar and prime ministerial candidate Elisabeth Harper.

Jagdeo also told the gathering of youths that the Opposition does not have any track record on development or any sound plan for the future, so their fallback plan is spreading hatred.
He urged Guyanese to fight this hatred, including racism, with togetherness, while encouraging the PYO to be at the forefront of the fight as they are the “lifeblood” of the PPP and the leaders of the future.
The PPP, he said, is about change and they should not be afraid to contest any positive challenge, as it is part of the process of making a difference and changing lives.
And this is the guiding philosophy of the PPP, he said, noting that the party is not stuck in the past, but have young people and their future at heart.
It is for this reason, he said, that the Government is investing heavily in education and youth development, and will be going to Parliament with legislation to liberalise the telecommunications sector, promoting cheaper Internet services, mobile devices, greater productivity and export of services.

STRONG ADVOCATE
He noted that Dr Jagan was at the forefront for youth development, and always stood up for what he believed in, even when the odds were stacked against him.
It is this spirit instilled in him by Dr Jagan, the former President said, that inspired him to stand up against the European Union (EU) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which was not too favourable for Guyana, but was agreed to by sister CARICOM nations.
He also said Dr Jagan was a great source of inspiration and motivation, pointing out that as a boy, he used to go with his mother and father to listen to him (Dr. Jagan) when he went to the village to speak, recalling that it used to be a big occasion.
The former President said it was a great joy when democracy was restored to Guyana in 1992, but his biggest achievement was not becoming President, but serving as junior Finance Minister in Dr Jagan’s Cabinet.