By Svetlana Marshall
The commissioning ceremony for a 5-seater school bus in Bartica was Saturday afternoon transformed into an electrifying Local Government Elections Campaign meeting with the coalition government seeking backing for its candidates. “Is Holbert Knights here?” President David Granger asked as he took the stage on Third Avenue, Bartica before a multitude of people, reminding them not to vote for an individual who would have failed them in a past.
Knights is a former Region Seven chairman who now leads Bartica Green Independence Alliance (BIGA), one of the groups contesting the upcoming Local Government Elections.
He reminded the residents that it was the APNU and the AFC, while still in the Opposition, that fought vigorously for the return of Local Government Elections which was last held in 1994.
“We worked together in the Parliament. We have crafted Local Government Elections Bills. We gave the former Government a deadline they must hold Local Government Elections by the 1st August, 2014 and when they didn’t do that, we went on the streets and picketed,” he recalled.
He said the APNU and AFC united in a push for Local Government Elections, not because the parties wanted to win, but because the citizens of Guyana deserve to have an effective Local Government System.
Alluding to the candidates for the coalition APNU+AFC, the President said, “even if these people in front of you don’t perform, move them and put another set after three years, but the choice is yours, and we are not taking away that choice from you, we are giving you a choice.”
“If we do not stay united, somebody is going to ride a Trojan Horse into this town, a Trojan Horse; they want you to think it is a gift but the gift is in unity.”
President Granger was modest in his delivery but it was Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman and Minister of Social Cohesion Amna Ally that stood in the face of the Opposition much to the satisfaction of the cheering crowd.
Minister Trotman, in a very thrilling speech, told the residents that in everything in life there is order.
“I accept that there is one supreme God…and there is one Government, there is one President, there is one party in power, there is one opposition against the party in power, and if there is any other group standing with that Opposition, it is against the Government,” the Natural Resources Minister declared.
He said Region Seven will experience unprecedented growth, pointing out that the feasibility study on the road from Parika to Goshen is near completed. Additionally, he said, a road from Bartica to Mahdia will be built along with a new stelling with commercial space and a new generating capacity to bring an end to power outages in the area.
Before returning to his seat, he reminded the residents to trust their leadership, be disciplined, be focused and fight for what they believed in.
Minister Ally reminded the residents that the coalition’s symbol is the hand in the key, stating clearly that APNU+AFC is a national coalition with competent representatives all the regions of the country.
“I am proud to acknowledge that our local leaders here are working assiduously to make Bartica a place where you are proud of. Already you are seeing the transformation of Bartica from what is use to be…,” she pointed out.
She said while it is a good thing to aspire for power and upward mobility, it must be done in unity.
“We extended the olive branch for a little group who call themselves BIGA to unite with us but it did not happen, but today I call on all Bartica to unite because in unity there is strength,” Minister Ally said while imploring them to join the APNU+AFC.
“Do not split your voters!” she further urged them, stating that if that is done, avenues would be opened for the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to slip in. “You must say no to the PPP! We have ensured 23 years of corruption, bad governance, thievery, discrimination, hardship, nepotism, favorism… and we cannot afford to go back there, we have to move forward.”
Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton; Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; and Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Dawn Hastings, who were all present echoed similar sentiments, calling on Barticians to vote wisely in May 18 Local Government Elections.