–prime minister tells Sophia residents

WITH 25 days to go before Guyanese go to the polls,the APNU+AFC coalition continues to make a strong case for re-election for another five years.
At a public meeting in Plum Park, Sophia, on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo told a large crowd that the government has been working assiduously to ensure that living conditions for the general populace are significantly improved.
Prime Minister Nagamootoo made the point that the previous administration’s dictatorial and authoritative style of leadership was meant to keep the Guyanese people in bondage.
Since the coming together of six parties to form a coalition in 2011, the country has seen a representation of all the ethnic and cultural groups in Guyana.

If national unity is to be achieved, then the country must never go back to one-party rule.
“One-party dictatorship, one-party authoritarian rule, we must never go back to one-party rule that is corrupt”, Nagamootoo told the crowd.

The coalition is confident of victory come March 2nd because according to Nagamootoo, there is no match for President Granger in the opposition.

However, the prime minister urged the residents that victory is not assured if they do not exercise their constitutional right and go out and vote. This was a message that was given by the previous speakers at Tuesday’s rally.

While emphasising the need to be vigilant against evil-doers, Nagamootoo cautioned against the naysayers who will say on polling day that there is no need to vote because the coalition has already secured a victory.

“That the APNU+AFC done win already, well we ain’t win already, we know we will win, but we have to win in order to say we have won it,” the prime minister was quoted as saying to the crowd.

On polling day, Guyanese need to mobilise each other and vote, considering that we must be free of hindrances such as alcohol and the feeling of being tired because they would have engaged in rivalry.

The prime minister made the point that the government has been working tirelessly and has done things that have never been done before in the history of Guyana , all to ensure that Guyanese will have a brighter future.

Prime Minister Nagamootoo trumpeted that no government in its first term has ever decided to give pensioners the right to a free driver’s licence and to remove people from the income tax bracket.

He told the crowd that in the government’s second term, if you are working for $700,000 to $1,000,000 dollars a year, you won’t have to pay income tax,

“We kept our promises to you that we will reduce the vat,[the] vampire tax that was introduced to you by Jagdeo; we reduced it by two per cent.”

The residents were reminded of the reduction of tolls for the Berbice bridge and the other promises made by the government prior to its assumption in 2015, that have been fulfilled and should be used as a point of reference while exercising their constitutional right to vote in this year’s elections.

Cash Grants for Schoolchildren
When the previous administration had implemented the transfer of a $10,000 cash grant to parents of schoolchildren, it was perceived that it was not carefully thought out.
But the prime minister, addressing the issue, said that the government favours a cash transfer, but it has to be worked out to benefit school-aged children.

The government had announced that there will be cash grant for parents with schoolchildren; hence, Nagamootoo assured that it will be worked out.

“These are not empty promises, because what we are doing is to ensure that our children benefit from a first-class, world- class education.”

He made the point that everywhere that has been touched by the clean hands of this government has seen improvement.

More Developments in the near future
There are plans to build a modern four-lane bridge across the Demerara River to ease traffic congestion along the East Bank corridor.
There are also plans to build a new road from Ogle on the East Coast of Demerara to Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara.

Plans are also on stream to build a bridge across the Corentyne River.
“We need the road to create jobs, and that is why President Granger announced that those former sugar workers who want to do crop cultivation in the sugar belt, they will be provided with land to do agriculture, because the opposition is exploiting the situation with the sugar industry to divide us, to tell Indo- Guyanese that they are been penalised by this government,” Nagamootoo said.

“The government has a vision and plan for all Guyanese, thus all that is needed to be done is to stay focused, because there is the assurance of a happy future.