—President predicts no new plans from PPP during campaign
…says everything being promised by the party has been fulfilled by his administration

AS the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) shaped up for its 2020 elections campaign launch on Sunday, President David Granger said earlier on that he did not anticipate that the party would put forward any new plans not already set in motion by the coalition government.

Ahead of the PPP/C’s campaign launch set for the Kitty Market Square, in an invited comment Sunday morning the Guyanese leader and presidential candidate for the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition told the Guyana Chronicle that they have already set an admirable pattern and the PPP/C could only now attempt to follow suit.

“There’s nothing that the PPP can add that APNU has not yet embarked on,” the President said. “And we’ve corrected a lot of the errors in those very sectors which the PPP committed. They can’t promise to hold local government [elections], we’ve done that; they can’t promise to empower young people, we’ve done that; they can’t promise to upgrade the education system, we’ve done that; they can’t promise to improve the economy, we’re doing that. So there’s nothing they can add. I expect they will simply regurgitate some of the plans which have already been announced by the APNU+AFC.”

True to his predictions, General-Secretary of the PPP Bharrat Jagdeo used his presentation to criticise the government, though he promised the audience that he was going to speak about policies. Instead, Jagdeo regaled the gathering about Farmer Nappy; Ali’s size and promises to jail government officials among others. For his part, PPP Presidential Candidate, Irfaan Ali regurgitated issues such as the failed Amaila Falls project; his promise to provide 50,000 new jobs; reopening of sugar estates and bringing more fibre-optic cables here. Under the PPP, the infamous Brazil-Guyana fibre-optic cable project that commenced in 2011 was bungled by the son of former President Donald Ramotar.

The project as conceptualised by the PPP was to establish among other things, a database hub for all government agencies. Improved internet access was expected to be part of the package. In June 2015 government had said that Guyana accumulated a US$76, 000 debt for internet connectivity though the country has not yet benefitted from the project.
Meanwhile, the APNU+AFC launched its elections campaign ahead of the PPP/C on Friday when thousands turned out to listen to the presentations from President Granger and and Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader Khemraj Ramjattan. At the rally, supporters were reminded that their government had held two local Government Elections in four years after a 22-year hiatus under the PPP/C.

They were reminded of the high future economic growth projected by international bodies for the country and the efforts made to improve the education sector through Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Supporters were altogether urged to vote for the coalition government, which has the ability to “usher in the dawn of a new era”, one marked by unity, prosperity and security.

Large turnout
Speaking to the large support received at the APNU+AFC rally, the President said: “I was very happy because it shows you that APNU+AFC is not a city-based coalition. There were people here from Region 10, people here from Region Nine, there were people here from Region Six. People come from all over the country to be with us. It is a very encouraging performance and attendance.”

The President said that based on the wide range of innovative plans put forward by his government to develop every sector over the last few years, he doubts whether anything new could be presented on the PPP/C’s big stage. For example, he spoke on the matter of free education — projected by the coalition government — -which when taken up by the PPP/C saw the party pledging to restore the same over a few years as it would take some time to “work out the details of this policy initiative.

” The President remarked: “All of last year 2019 I stated that we will have free education from nursery to university. All they could say is ‘in five years’ time’. No. We’re going to have it as soon as the oil revenue permits it. We’re going to have free education at the university level.

So there’s nothing they can add. They had 23 years and they failed and all they can do is repeat what APNU+AFC has already pledged to do.”