WITH General and Regional Elections heading closer to homestretch, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) made a stirring appeal to residents of Whim, Berbice to vote to support the survival of the sugar industry and ensure a secured future for their children and grandchildren.The sugar industry provides employment for some 17,000 workers, many from Berbice, and has over the years come under attack from the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), which now has the full support of the Alliance For Change (AFC).

Addressing a massive gathering at the prominent Berbice village on Friday evening, President Donald Ramotar said the PPP/C will do all in its power to protect the industry and ensure its survival.
The ruling party, in its 2015 manifesto, has promised to invest some $20 billion in the industry if re-elected to office.
President Ramotar last evening explained that the money will go towards the development of co-generation at the sugar estates to supply electricity to the national grid, the production of refined sugar and ethanol on a commercial scale.
He told the gathering that when they vote on Monday, they should think about their future, and place their trust in the PPP/C to ensure the continuation of progress and development.
The APNU had at one time called for the closure of the sugar industry and utilise the fields for tilipha rearing, but following harsh criticism, they withdrew the statement.
President Ramotar said these are not people who should be trusted, pointing out that aside from their call to close the industry, they had threatened to vote down provision for GuySuCo in the national budget.
Today, the APNU has found a willing partner in the AFC, President Ramotar told the boisterous crown drawn from nearby villages, while reminding them that the People’s National Congress (PNC) which now control the APNU+AFC Alliance has never done anything to better their lives.
“They rigged elections after elections,” he said, noting that when two Berbicians tried to protect the ballot boxes, they were shot dead by soldiers, who were acting under their superiors. APNU+AFC Alliance Leader, David Granger, was at the time a Commander of the Army. “Granger has blood on his hands,” President Ramotar said, also stressing that the PNC, which Granger also heads, has been a supporter of criminals, pointing to their support of notorious criminal Linden ‘Blackie’ London, whose coffin they draped with the flag of Guyana, the Golden Arrowhead.
Granger a few weeks ago told Barticians that under an APNU+AFC Alliance government, no more massacres will happen in the mining community. President Ramotar contended that Granger knows what he is taking about, noting that guns that went missing under the PNC Administration turned up in the hands of criminals who carried out the Lusignan and Bartica massacres as well as major robberies.
The PPP/C government, he said, is about building a better Guyana for all Guyanese, not damaging the country and rigging elections to stay in power as the PNC did.
The incumbent government has transformed Guyana during its 23 years in power through heavy investment in education, healthcare, and infrastructural development. Today, Guyanese enjoy a life three to four times better than the life they had in 1992.
Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy said the good life must continue, urging the gathering to not put trust in the “crook” Moses Nagamootoo, who say he is a ‘Madrasi’, and is working to give 11 per cent of Indian votes to Granger to vote out the PPP/ C from office.

According to Dr Ramsammy, Nagamootoo does not know where the Kali temple is in his own village, and he (Ramsammy) knows and goes to the temple regularly as is a true Madrasi warrior, fighting for progress and development for Guyana.
On Elections Day, he said, the electorate must teach the APNU+AFC a lesson, by using their most potent weapon – their decency and their pen — and vote resoundingly for the PPP/C.
Region Six Chairman Mr David Armogan also delivered a forceful presentation, urging the gathering to send a strong message to the APNU+AFC Alliance by putting a final nail in their coffin, thereby ending the immoral marriage between Granger and Nagamootoo.
He alluded to the fact that, despite Guyana growing and developing tremendously since 1992, the APNU and AFC are telling their supporters that there is no development. Armogan said it is clear that they choose not to see the Berbice River Bridge, the University of Guyana Berbice Campus, improvement in education and healthcare, more particularly the 800 locally-trained doctors in Guyana today.

None of these doctors, he said is “a quack doctor”, making reference to a prominent AFC Executive.
Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh said the support of Whim and the electorate in general, is not only a support to keep the PPP/C in power but to keep Guyanese from returning to the days when flour, potato, and sardine were banned and it was a criminal offence to have these foods.
Guyana, he said, has come a long way since 1992, Guyanese enjoy better lives, pointing out that the PPP/C will continue to create more jobs, providing an environment for business to flourish and work to ensure unity and harmony among its peoples.
On that note, he urged the gathering to bring out their friends, families and neighbours, and vote solidly for the PPP/C so that progress and development can continue.
The lively rally also featured presentations from several young Berbicians who did not do a bad job in energising the massive gathering.