–Jagdeo says, rejects WPA’s criticisms, grills party for being against progress

TODAY’S budget will focus on addressing the needs of the people, while continuing to forge a prosperous path for all, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo has said.
During a news conference at Freedom House on Thursday, the General Secretary addressed the criticisms by the opposition and government critics on Budget 2025, which has not even been presented as yet.

The General Secretary, who also serves as Guyana’s Vice-President, first rejected the claim made in a Stabroek News editorial that today’s budget will possess ‘vote sweeteners’.
In response, the Vice-President said: “The budget will be read, and you will see that the budget sticks with what we promised the people of this country.”
The continued works by the government to improve the lives of all are not “vote sweeteners”, he firmly stated.

Further, Jagdeo flayed the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) for being “anti-development”, following its criticism of the PPP/C for delivering on its Manifesto promises.
Earlier this week, the WPA claimed that this year’s budget will be driven by “election gimmicks”.
“They’re always against progress,” the General Secretary said.

Although there has been a continuous, generic heckling by the Opposition, the Vice-President highlighted their lack of solutions.
It is in this regard that Dr. Jagdeo said: “Tell us whose road not to fix; tell us which congested highway not to widen. Tell us, if we don’t spend the money on the power plant, where to get the power from. Or should we not spend money on all the water treatment plants for our people? They can’t come to the details.”

Further, responding to the criticisms, the Vice-President said that obviously, the budget will execute the promises to the people of better facilities.
“Money will be in the budget to continue our housing programme, because we promised the people greater access to housing. We will do that during an election year, and we will do it in a year that is not election. From the first year we got into office, we’ve started doing that,” he said.
Whether it is an election year or not, the government has continuously worked on executing its promises, and this can be seen in the fact that all of its 2020 Manifesto promises are fulfilled and now they’re working on bonus, the Vice-President said.
“They have nothing to talk about,” he said, while rejecting the WPA’s criticisms.

With people as the main focus in all of the budgets, Jagdeo said: “Their [the people] desires for a better life must guide our policies and the spending and that is what we are doing. Look at where we are putting the money.”
Last year, there was a $1.146 trillion budget that was geared towards ensuring national prosperity and more opportunities.

The measures within the budget were aimed at increasing disposable income; putting more money in the pockets of people, bolstering income for vulnerable groups, and, of course, improving the system of services, governance, and the provision of services for the country.