-Minister McCoy slams Opposition for track record in office

-Highlights how the PPP/C Gov’t ‘picked up the pieces’ and improved lives of all Guyanese

TO unmask the Opposition’s claims of Budget 2024 possessing nothing for the ordinary man, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, unveiled how the government has “picked up the pieces” and improved the lives of all Guyanese since assuming office in August 2020.

Despite the House being previously disrupted by an unexpected event by an opposition parliamentarian, Minister McCoy did not let this deter him from setting the record straight.

“Since the reading of the budget last week, Opposition politicians have been huddling in their various rabbit holes… they were not trying to comprehend its [budget] magnitude and its catalytic features feeding Guyana’s transformation pathway that is sure to create empowerment for every Guyanese, including their constituencies,” the Minister boldly remarked.

He noted that job opportunities and the ability to accumulate wealth are lush for Guyanese under the Irfaan-Ali led administration, given the massive injections of investments that they are making.

Commenting on the last few days of budget debates, he highlighted the Opposition has not been constructive with their criticisms but instead used the moment to act as if they attained significant accomplishments from 2015 to 2020.

“The people over the last few days who did little or nothing are the loudest in this house, and I’m happy they identify themselves; [they did] nothing [for] the people across this country…” he said.

Expounding on the measures that are set in place for all Guyanese, the Minister said that the allotted time he was given to present could not do justice to the many incentives that have been conferred on the lives of all citizens.

Despite the Opposition “masquerading” under the pretense of care, McCoy said that it was under the APNU+AFC administration that Guyanese saw 200 new taxes being placed on their backs, water, and electricity subsidies being taken away from the pensioners, among other measures.

Also, according to Minister McCoy, the blame is at the feet of the previous APNU+AFC government for failing to carry out the Amaila Falls Hydropower Station (AFHP), which serves as the gateway for Guyanese to get cheaper electricity.

The AFHP, with its potential 165 megawatts of power generation, could have been a game-changer for Guyana, but the project was not pursued by the former APNU+AFC coalition administration.

Notably, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government is aiming to lower energy costs by at least 50 per cent through an energy mix that incorporates gas, solar, wind, and hydropower.

Emphasising how Guyanese are seeing brighter days under the PPP/C government, the Minister said that the sugar workers, who were robbed of their right to earn a living when APNU+AFC sent thousands of them home, were rehired under the PPP/C.

In 2017, the former APNU+AFC Coalition government announced the closure of several sugar estates across the country, leaving thousands of people without jobs or sources of income. The move saw four sugar estates being closed and over 7,000 sugar workers losing their jobs.

The Rose Hall Estate, prior to its closure, was “home” to some 2,500 sugar workers, but 1,181 of those were retrenched. The remaining workers from the Rose Hall Estate were transferred to Blairmont Estate over in West Coast Berbice and Albion Estate on the Corentyne.

Moreover, the minister shifted his attention to the upward trajectory that Guyana has been undergoing.

“We restored our citizens’ constitutional rights to housing with over 30,000 house lots distributed…We provided economic empowerment pathways for women and single mothers and Mr. Speaker, we restored our children’s grant, and of course we have worked to improve the lives of people right across this country,” he said.

Adding: “…We are not saying that we have done it all. All of this is part of a process in which we started out in 2020 picking up the pieces, correcting the mistakes, fixing things and working every single year to improve our assets, to improve the lives of the people… it is a process, it will not happen overnight.”

NEW HEIGHTS

As the government continues to strive to produce world-class healthcare, quality education, more economic opportunities, the Minister stated that Budget 2024 serves as a vehicle to continue this development.

“Budget 2024 has shattered every conceivable ceiling Guyana has ever been constrained by since our independence, with provisions for exponential growth of every sector and measures that create an enabling environment for young people to emerge from poverty and various other social strata and begin thriving,” Minister McCoy boasted.

Using a random sample, he stated that he found 736 Guyanese that lauded the PPP/C’s efforts to craft a better Guyana.

Despite the statements stemming from the Opposition on the topic of inflation, Minister McCoy pointed out that this is a global phenomenon and not something that is foreign to Guyana.

Nevertheless, he stated that prudent management is what sets people apart, given the increasing cost of living due to inflation.

He related: “We are constantly consulting with our stakeholders and people right across this country and reviewing our policies and programmes to address all the pressing issues, including the issues of cost of living, and of course, to make sure that we have sustainable economic and social growth while providing real time cushioning interventions to ease the cost of living burdens for every citizen.”

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Addressing the improvement of state media entities under the present government, the Minister emphasised the ongoing investments being made to enhance the working conditions of those employed in this sector.

“Over the past three years, we’ve worked tirelessly to restore a greater semblance of standards in journalism, communication, and broadcasting protocols across the sector. Extensive refresher training interventions were conducted, and last year, we commenced an extensive up-skilling strategy with international exposure and certifications under the umbrella of the ground-breaking Media and Communication Academy. We will advance those efforts this year,” the Minister said.

The Minister additionally commented that the Department of Public Affairs (DPA) will consolidate and strengthen the country’s regional and international endeavours, aiming to foster relationships and harmony among the state media entities of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and other continental jurisdictions.

He said: “This week, Mr. Speaker, our first Memorandum of Understanding for information and communication co-operation will be signed with my counterpart at the Ghanian Ministry of Information, and in February, with my counterpart in the Office of the Prime Minister of Jamaica.”

In the coming two years, there will be knowledge exchange and capacity-building missions conducted at various government-related hubs in Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

“With regard to my wider Public Affairs portfolio Mr. Speaker, my secretariat has been engaging with communities across the country with the help of Community Engagement Officers to address and channel wide-ranging issues, and ultimately respond to people’s expectations. We have directly engaged and assisted thousands of citizens and will intensify those efforts this year with the aid of our budgetary allocations,” he said.

In 2024, the DPA will roll out several wide-ranging public education campaigns targeting engendering behaviour change across the society, to roll back some of the negative social consequences of undesirable behaviours and actions.