– blazes Opposition for failed ‘promises’

THE People’s Progressive Party government has already delivered beyond the manifesto promises it made during the campaign period of the 2020 general elections.

This is according to the party’s General Secretary, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who on Thursday at a press conference blasted the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) for failing to deliver on the ‘vital metric’ of politics – fulfilling their promises to the populace, while in office.

“They failed miserably on the trust, the metric of trustworthiness and this is a vital metric because that is all you have when politicians make promises. That is all you have their trustworthiness, will they do what say they will do,” Jagdeo said.

“And the APNU failed to do that when they were in office, all the things that they listed in their manifesto, it did not complete or do 10 per cent of them,” he added.

In contrast, he noted the PPP government has already delivered on 90 per cent of their manifesto promises.

“We pride ourselves in this. If you look at our manifesto, our promise to the people of this country, already in the first three years we have fulfilled 90 per cent of the promise. We have gone beyond those promises,” the General Secretary said.

In highlighting some of the government’s achievements, the General Secretary referenced the government’s online scholarship programme, which was launch back in 2021.

“We promised for example 20,000 online scholarships. We are already at 28,000 and that’s only through the GOAL programme, leaving out the GROW [GET Ready for Opportunity to Work] and WIIN [ Women’s Investment and Innovation Network] and the BIT [Board of Industrial Training].”

It was recently reported that some 30,000 Guyanese have benefitted over the past three years from free, quality education through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) programme.

Government has been working assiduously to enhance access to quality education, ensuring that universal access is achieved countrywide.

The effort has produced notable results, as the government continues to surpass its goal of providing 20,000 scholarships during its tenure.

Through the GOAL programme, some 345 programmes from 19 universities is being offered to citizens.

Of the 30,000 students, 75 per cent are women.

In this year’s budget, a sum of $6 billion was allocated for the GOAL programme to support 6,000 new students and 3,967 continuing students.

In 2024, GOAL will introduce 160 new programmes in general and vocational and bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

The programme was launched in 2021 to offer Guyanese an opportunity to advance their education through online and distance learning.

The president also pointed to the UWI School of Medicine that will be constructed in Guyana.

This plan aligns with the government’s vision of crafting a world-class healthcare system, providing advanced training and upskilling opportunities.