A TANGIBLY moving recital of Guyana’s motto – ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’ – was the focus of the message delivered by People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) stalwart, Ms Gail Teixeira, to the residents of West Ruimveldt on Wednesday evening.“We in the PPP/C government have strived and worked hard to reconstruct our country…it was done not by the government alone, but by all our people….now at this juncture people have to decide where we are going as a country,” she said during that party’s public meeting in the area.

According to her, the focus in the lead-up to the May 11th General and Regional elections must be the message of Guyana’s motto.

“This is what we have to be talking about in 2015…next year will mark 50 years of our independence, yet there are people who want to divide us, just like the British did in colonial times… there are times in our lives where we must put country first…on May 11 we must make decisions about our future,” she said.

Teixeira stressed that May 11 is a critical junction for Guyana and the Guyanese people.
“We (the PPP/C) can show progress. We can show how we have been able to open up areas for housing. We can show ExxonMobil out in the ocean, investing hundreds of millions in the next 10 years. We can show how many entrepreneurs have business…we are all tied together…we have a pro-poor pro-growth development strategy,” she declared.

AWAKENING

The veteran politician underscored the fact that there is an “awakening” among the Guyanese people.

“There is an awakening in our country, where our people don’t want to be shackled…I will not be defined by my gender or by the colour of my skin. I am Guyanese….yet there are those who will try to divide us based on ethnicity,” she said.

Teixeira added that this awakening bodes well for the future, a future where there is much to do.
“We have seen change, but we still have to do better…is ‘nuff’ work…our country was battered and bruised and disrespected under a PNC administrative dictatorship…we must keep going onward,” she said.
“…the PPP/C is like a yo-yo. We keep bouncing, coming back from each blow…looking forward there is much to be done and being able to look ahead to what we can do as one nation and one people with one destiny, that is what our focus must be,” Teixeira told those in attendance at the meeting.

DO A RECKONING
The high-ranking PPP member urged that with this focus in mind, the May 11 polls represent a call for Guyanese to “do a reckoning” and weigh the improvements in their lives.

“Sit down with a piece of paper and a pencil and check. What has changed from 1992 to now for you? What have you been able to accomplish? What are the challenges? If it is the positives that you are checking off then it can only be the PPP/C that you vote for,” she said.
Teixeira also alluded to the “telling disregard” for the Guyanese people that has been displayed by the political Opposition.
“It was bullyism, bullyism and bullyism. What we saw was a telling disregard of the voice of the people of Guyana…just like Burnham in the 1964 elections when British Guiana was one of the top countries in this hemisphere under the PPP government, he promised to ‘feed, house and clothe the nation’, riding on the back of the PPP’s achievements. So too now the joint alliance (APNU/AFC) is doing the same … but what did the PNC in government do? They took Guyana to the bottom of the list of poorest countries in this hemisphere,” she said.
Teixeira pointed out that “it is the Opposition in the National Assembly that blocked a petition from the business community urging the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill from even being read; yet Mr Granger has gone to the same (business) community to convince its members that the APNU and his Presidency will be good for them. Shame! All they do now is regurgitate Burnham’s ‘feed, house and clothe the nation’, but what do they do?”

NO BUNDLES TO TIE
Turning her attention to the actions of the political Opposition, Teixeira noted that “tying bundle with the APNU+AFC is dangerous” for the Guyanese people, since the contradictions that have characterised the positions of the APNU+AFC Alliance are as plain as day.
“They are a party of contradictions…they carved up the pie of power but their pie is nothing but jello,” Teixeira posited.
On the other hand, she stated that the actions of the political Opposition reeked of opportunism.
“It is stinking opportunism…they sat there and cut up a deal…a deal about positions, nothing about the people…have they said to you ‘We will do this for you’, no,” Teixeira lamented.
She gave an example of when two persons have a dispute and meet to find a way forward but one side comes in with their maximum ‘take it or leave it’.

Teixiera said, “This is how the APNU and AFC have behaved in the last three years.”
She stressed that despite repeated efforts of the President to meet over this period, there was no “wiggle room” for cooperation and finding solutions in the last three years.
“We have worked with former President Hoyte as leader of the Opposition and former Leader of the Opposition Corbin…There was always some wiggle room to where we sit down and everybody get something….you cannot, when you are negotiating with a legitimate government, come to us and say ‘take it or leave it’…but the present Leader of the Opposition, Mr Granger, we cannot work with a leader who comes in to meet the President of Guyana and cannot sit down and negotiate,” she said.
Teixeira acknowledged that while the PPP/C did not do everything right, the party has a track record of progress to show.
“Come May 11, if you want more progress vote for the PPP/C… vote for the cup” she urged.

OPPORTUNITY
Other speakers at the meeting on Wednesday night included Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO) member, Charles Ramson Jr., who addressed the social advances, particularly in education, which have been made under successive PPP/C administrations. He alluded to the Government supported initiatives – in the Education sector, for instance – that are beneficial to Guyanese, such as the school feeding programme, the uniform assistance programme and the ‘Because We Care’ initiative.

“Opportunities were provided,” he stressed, adding that these opportunities have contributed to increased generation of income, which, by extension, improved the quality of living among the Guyanese people.
Greater advances, according to Ramson Jr., will be delivered via continued economic growth, good governance and continued laudable stewardship of the country, by a Government that has consistently delivered for the Guyanese people.
“All of the successes are because of the policies and programmes initiated by the PPP/C over two decades….we help you build a foundation for success…the PNC and AFC have never had your back…they have never voted for anything in your interest…they had an opportunity to show you they had your back, but they voted no to everything that would help you,” he stressed.
Ramson Jr added that the incumbent Party has a clear and viable vision for Guyana and for the peace, progress and prosperity for the Guyanese people.
“President Ramotar has a vision for this country and as much as he has talked about his vision he has not had a chance to show you because of a vindictive Opposition whose mantra has been ‘NO’,” he said.
He urged the residents to give President Ramotar a chance and vote PPP/C.
The public meeting was chaired by Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Jennifer Webster.
Additionally, Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsarran, was also in the community interacting with residents in one-on-one sessions.
Wednesday evening’s meeting at West Ruimveldt was one of several outreaches undertaken by the ruling PPP/C. Public meetings were and are being held nightly across the coastal regions of Guyana, from Yarrowkarba in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) to the Marias in Wakenaam, Region Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), Region 1, 2 and Georgetown.
These meetings have been the tactic employed by the incumbent PPP for decades as a means of maintaining and nurturing support at the grassroots level.

By Vanessa Narine