“WE ARE going to reach out to the PPP/C after the May11 Elections, so as to proceed with the continued development, as it would be in denial of the national unity of our party to not include the other political parties in the continuity of building this country.”This commitment was given by leader of the Opposition coalition, A Partnership For National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), David Granger, yesterday in response to a question from Chris Chapwanya during an interview on ‘Hard Talk’ aired on 90.1 (Love) FM.
In reply to whether or not they are going to reach out to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) if elected on May 11, the retired brigadier said that they are going to build a Government of National Unity; therefore, they will reach out to the PPP/C so that they can share in the governing of the country.
Although he established the fact that they will reach out to the PPP/C, Granger underscored that no PPP/C member will share space in the cabinet because they are contaminated with corruption, as they intend to be careful and keen in selecting their Ministers of Government.

APNU+AFC’S MANIFESTO
The corruption, he noted, could be seen in their all-round performance over the years and the Opposition has laid out their plan of action in their recently launched manifesto.
Moving more indepth on their manifesto, Granger stated that the issues highlighted in the manifesto represent the views of the people of Guyana who they have visited and heard their cries for a better livelihood.
PEOPLE’S CONCERNS
The ideas, he noted, didn’t just “drop out of the sky or drop from a tree.” Persons have articulated their concerns to APNU+AFC and therefore they are making representations on behalf of the people of this nation.
When asked about the budget cuts and blockages of the passing of bills, Granger first bemoaned the fact that the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) bill which the PPP/C wanted to implement was already in the first legislation 15 years ago, and there have been no enforcements since.
Therefore, he stated, they did not agree to the bill because they wanted to ensure that there was compliance with laws, better supervision by the Bank of Guyana and in general just to ‘tighten up’ the bill, ensuing that it was ‘water tight’ before passing it.
Apart from that he announced that they intend to reexamine contracts, such as the Amaila Falls Hydro Project and the Specialty Hospital which the PPP/C withdrew or failed to cope with.
PLANS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Meanwhile, as the programme progressed Granger was asked what are the Party’s plans for the younger people of Guyana if elected. In response he said that after 23 years the country doesn’t have a credible youth strategy, as the PPP/C failed young people terribly.
“There has been a recorded 6,000 school dropouts every year, not forgetting the serious problems at UG…we have to fix the education system, as we intend to develop a technical and agricultural institute in every region,” Granger stated.
He also disclosed that, “we will also make sure that at the level of the schools there is proper computer labs and use it as the basis to build Information and Communications Technology (ICT)… because we cannot proceed with any dreaming scheme without the school system, as it was cockeyed to give everyone one laptop, therefore, we will start at UG and Cyril Potter College and build the system.”
Apart from the education sector, the Leader of the Opposition said that they will be providing more employment for young people.
CORRUPTION
Addressing the issue of corruption in Guyana when asked how they intend to address it if elected, Granger said they firstly intend to provide efficient public services by treating public servants better.
He disclosed that the PPP/C failed to treat public servants right, and this was a contributing factor towards corruption; one of their methods he highlighted will be to increase the payments of police and army officers.
“We will improve the salaries, provide more training, increase the provision of equipment, and increase methods of transportation for the police officers, as the PPP/C had a deliberate plan to keep them weak… but we will ensure that we build a more efficient police force as we fight against corruption,” he said.
JUST TWO EX-GDF OFFICERS
And when questioned about the alleged militarisation of APNU+AFC, Granger disclosed that, “the persons who are making these allegations need to provide evidence to justify their statements, as during their three years in the 10th Parliament only two out of 65 of their members were ex officers, and these are myself and Joe Harmon.”
This, he noted, can’t be called militarisation, as they can’t militarise the parliament with two former officers.