-President tells massive Hopetown rally
-says time to end PPP “political problem” in the region

By Lisa Hamilton

THE A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) lost Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) in the 2015 elections by less than 4,000 votes and President David Granger said that come March 2020 Guyanese must not let this happen again.

Residents of Region Five, came out in their hundreds on Wednesday, were ready for the Head of State’s message in which he promised that the “backward” mentality of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) would never rule again if they stuck with the coalition.
In his message at the Hopetown Community Centre Ground, President Granger pointed out that the Region has a “political problem” called the PPP which has sought to divide Guyanese by race over the years.

FIX THE PROBLEM

However, he called on the people to fix the problem with their votes on March 2, so that the Region can build on its strengths to become a true “agriculture powerhouse”. “You have population of 50,000 Amerindians, Africans, Indians. You can go places with the right leadership but we have a political problem in this Region and the political problem is the PPP/C and we have to solve this problem on March 2nd,” he said.

The coalition leader told his supporters that the APNU+AFC’s vision is not to see Region Five be viewed as a “passage way” from one region to the next but as the country’s food basket.
He noted that the region produces 40 per cent of the rice in the entire country and 20 per cent of Guyana’s sugar. He stated that while the PPP wants to create the impression that the government is afraid to speak about sugar, the coalition has not closed the Blairmont Factory and has promised to keep sugar going in the region. This is even as it works to diversify poorly-performing sugar estates in other parts to ensure a viable future.

Development for all
The President reminded Mahaica-Berbice residents that the government has always fought for and acted towards their development in ways the Opposition overlooked or intentionally bypassed. These he listed as the Opposition’s attempt to raise the Berbice Bridge toll; previously poor drainage and irrigation systems and the non-cooperation of the Region’s Chairman to create a sense of stymied progress in the Region.

Presenting the audience with a verbal questionnaire, the President asked: “You want another Phantom Squad? You want another Skeldon Factory? You want another fibre optic cable? You want another Pharaoh?”
To his questions, the hundreds waved their APNUAFC flags and screamed “No!” The coalition leader said that while his government is committed to democratic elections, the PPP is led by a man who believes in a “backdoor entrance” and has “his eye on the oil”.
However, pouring cold water on any intentions, he warned the crowd that while the individual smells victory he is making a “bad mistake” because they are up against a six-party coalition.

Describing himself as a “mild mannered man”, the Head of State reminded that, unlike the PPP, he never told supporters to chase political persons out of any region and such negative language would not be promoted by any good leader. He urged: “Let us not be abusive; let us be friends. Let us listen to them and let us use reason to triumph over ignorance; Let us use good to triumph over evil; let us use progress to triumph over backwardness.”

NEW OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE
In his address to the mass, APNUAFC Prime Ministerial Candidate, Khemraj Ramjattan stated plainly that the PPP represents the “worst choice for Guyana” and must remain exactly where they are if Guyana is to properly progress.

He said that while the PPP wants the Region to remain fastened in the “cane cutting” culture, the coalition government sees nothing wrong with the occupation but wants to give Guyanese all possible opportunities for their development. “We want to wean people away from cane cutting. That is what the PPP wants! We’re not saying anything bad about cane cutting but if we have an opportunity to make them technologists and scientists and engineers we will wean them away, don’t stop that progress,” he said.

Noting such efforts already embarked upon, Ramjattan pointed to the construction of the Early Childhood Development Centre in Ithaca Village, West Bank Berbice which invests in children from the very beginning. He noted the presence of 40 new medical technologists in the Mahaica-Berbice Region which eliminates the need for patients to travel all the way to Georgetown; the new Mahiacony Secondary science laboratory and the $214M Abary sluice and the over $460M spent to repair sea defences to prevent floods.

Ramjattan affirmed that the coalition’s four year of service outshines the PPP’s “23 years of blunders” and citizens have a responsibility to make a critical decision for their future on March 2, 2020. To the people he described President Granger as “dependable, a man of integrity and a man you can trust” and the coalition government as the only leadership and the party which has a home for everyone in Guyana. “I want to tell you this, this coalition is here to stay a long, long time,” Ramjattan said.

“We have to choose in this election and we have to make it clear what we’re choosing. It is between this coalition government led by President David Granger who is both properly qualified and certified and who has led this tremendous development thus far or you can go for an arrogant PPP government led by Irfaan Ali whose qualification we don’t know a thing about.”

This was the APNU+AFC’s second political rally with the first being held at the D’Urban Park in Georgetown on January 3, 2020. Both rallies pulled massive crowds. The coalition has planned some 16 rallies for the campaign season- the next one scheduled for New Amsterdam, Region Six on Saturday, January 11, 2020.