…as PPP rallies support in Region 3

THE People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has promised Guyanese that numerous developmental plans, absent under their 23 years of leadership, would be kickstarted should they be re-elected into office.

Addressing a crowd of supporters at Stewartville on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD), PPP/C Presidential Candidate, Irfaan Ali, promised residents of the region initiatives which would bring jobs, access to housing, improved health care and a better way of life for all Guyanese. One of the plans put forward was the introduction of 400 megawatts of energy to end power outages.

The Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) has been facing great challenges stretching decades back under the PPP/C. Ali also promised that there would be 100 per cent water coverage for persons on the country’s lower coast. The promise was made even as the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) has reported that, as of 2019, 96 per cent of the 700,000 plus persons living in Guyana now have access to improved drinking-water sources. Most of the development took place under the current administration. Ali was the immediate past minister responsible for the water sector.

The presidential candidate also vowed the return of free-education to the University of Guyana (UG), removed in 1994 by the PPP; the implementation of a Youth Advisory Council to the President and the expansion of the housing programme.

Speaking to the latter, he stated: “The housing programme that has been stalled, those persons who paid money and are waiting for the infrastructure to be completed and were told that they can no longer get those lots, we’re going to fix it on March 2. Prepare yourself, get ready, we are going to start building again. You’re going to have the dream of home ownership once more.”

Just in November 2019, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC), Trevor Benn, told the Guyana Chronicle that the Commission is working round-the-clock to rebuild public trust after years of corruption under the former Administration. “Trust in the system is just not there. People believe that once they apply, nothing is going to happen for them because nothing has happened for many of them over the years. They have been waiting so long, so they don’t have trust in the system,” Benn had lamented.

Agro-processing
Moving to agriculture, Ali promised that a PPP/C Government would support the agriculture sector by investing in agro-processing facilities and cash crops; reducing the interest rate of loans to farmers and giving farmers access to new and higher-paying markets. He also promised that a 2020-elected PPP/C government will connect the Essequibo Islands to Parika by investing in river transportation and upgrading stellings; build a state-of-the-art regional hospital in Region Three; complete the Del Conte Road; reduce taxes on the importation of new vehicles; build a four-lane bridge across the Demerara River; explore the possibility of a loan write-off for UG students and more.

Several of these highlighted are similar to ongoing or proposed plans of the party’s main competitor– the APNU+AFC coalition. These include the Del Conte Road, a new bridge across the Demerara River and the reconstruction of water transportation ports.
Nonetheless, speaking to his supporters, Ali said that “development has stalled” under the current Administration but the PPP/C will change this come March 2, 2020. “The vision, my brothers and sisters of the PPP, is to put back money in your pocket; to put back money they took out of your pocket;” Ali stated.

Meanwhile, making promises, too, was PPP/C Prime Ministerial Candidate, Mark Phillips, who said that the PPP/C will double the old-age pension to $40,000 which stood as low as $7,500 in 2011. In that year, former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh had announced that seniors could expect to get $7,500 a month as of February 1.

In 2019, under the current A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government, the pension was increased from $19,500 to $20,500. Even so, Phillips stated that the PPP/C is the only party which will put Guyana first and fulfil its promises. He also criticised the current Administration for failing to create jobs; the removal of the 10,000 cash grants for school children, administering new taxes and instilling a 02:00am curfew while hailing his party as a “cradle for democracy in Guyana”.

“Why would you want a government that has not put people at the centre of development,” he questioned the people, adding that “we will promise you a better life. We will win the elections because we are democrats, we believe in democracy.”
Also speaking at the rally was General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo. He said that since the APNU+AFC was elected into office there has been a steady decline in all that matters to Guyanese, promising that this can change on E-day. During the rally, brief remarks also came from several representatives of the party who told the audience why they support the PPP/C and why Guyanese should re-elect them to power.