–Vice-President Jagdeo tells electorate; says PPP/C the only party on the ballot with ‘credible, proven’ track record

AS Guyana prepares to head to the polls on Monday, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has urged voters to carefully consider how their ballots will shape the future of Guyana as he encouraged citizens to judge the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) by its record and its plans, noting that it is the only party on the ballot with a credible and proven track record.

“The choices we make on Monday will affect all our lives,” the Vice President, who is also the PPP’s General Secretary, said during a radio programme on Friday afternoon.

This Monday, September 1, is the General and Regional Elections and it gives the electorate the perfect opportunity to exercise their democratic right of selecting Guyana’s leadership. And Dr. Jagdeo has appealed to citizens to look at how the PPP/C has navigated the nation through its toughest periods and most recently, through the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply shocks.

“Everyone owes themselves and their families the need to carefully analyse the options before us and I want to urge you to look at what the People’s Progressive Party has done in the last five years under difficult circumstances,” he stated.

Since assuming office in 2020, the PPP/C has incentivised traditional and non-traditional sectors, created over 50,000 jobs and ensured that citizens get help, particularly at the grassroot level.

“So, I want to urge them to support the People’s Progressive Party on Monday-the 1st September- I want to urge people to let’s put an end to, for once and for all, these naysayers who believe that our country can’t unite and vote along issues line, rather than race,” Dr. Jagdeo said.

While insisting the PPP/C is “asking respectfully” for support based on performance and plans, the Vice-President criticised the opposition for their attempts to stir tensions, and pointed to the PPP’s peaceful decision to concede after a narrow loss in 2015, compared to the opposition parties’ current rhetoric and their attempt, while in office, to rig the 2020 elections.

Dr. Jagdeo predicted a victory for PPP/C, attributing his confidence to the government’s five years of hard work.

“When we say we will win elections, it’s because we work for people’s support,” he said, as he bluntly highlighted that the other political parties are inexperienced and lack vision.

He also pointed to the alleged handouts being offered by US-sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed’s We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party to influence support. He said that this one-day money cannot secure Guyanese citizens’ future nor help their quality of life.

Dr. Jagdeo stated that the people of Guyana know that their future and their children’s future is secure with the PPP/C.

Citing some of the PPP/C’s plans for the future, the PPP has pledged no new taxes, the Because We Care cash grant will double to $100,000 per child, plus a new transport grant, old age pensions and public assistance will continue to climb and fuel and utility subsidies will remain in place.

Among other pledges, the PPP/C has outlined plans to make Guyana the industrial and food producing capital of the Caribbean; continue to develop the health, education, oil and gas sectors; transform Amerindian communities; bolster security and governance; and building out a modern digitised economy.

Dr. Jagdeo also mentioned several other elements within the party’s manifesto that will see the livelihoods of all being improved.

He related: “If we can help you to own a home, if we can then help to lower the taxes so you can own a vehicle, the family’s capacity to improve will be vastly enhanced.”

After surpassing its 2020 target of delivering 50,000 residential house lots, the PPP/C has outlined an ambitious plan to build 40,000 new homes across the country, with a comprehensive strategy to expand and regularise housing areas while driving billions of dollars in investment into the economy.

Dr. Jagdeo noted that the party would focus heavily on the construction of new homes through the provision of direct assistance to build in the most vulnerable families.

GUYANA’S REVIVAL

Among many challenges from 2015-2020, the previous coalition crippled Guyana’s workforce and failed to deliver on their manifesto promises.

The APNU and its coalition partner, AFC, took persons out of jobs instead of creating opportunities, as was seen for example in the sugar industry.

Under the APNU+AFC administration, sugar workers were begging for their livelihoods to be spared, even going so far as to hold pickets with heartfelt pleas in the scorching sun, at the time. However, the then government turned a deaf ear to the cries of those workers.

In 2017, the coalition government had announced the closure of several sugar estates across the country, leaving thousands of persons without jobs or sources of income. The move saw four sugar estates being closed and over 7,000 sugar workers losing their jobs.

Since its election to office in 2020, the PPP/C government has restored jobs within the sugar industry.

While the APNU’s last term in office left thousands of persons unemployed, the current PPP/C has restored and created in excess of 60,000 jobs since entering office in 2020; this included the creation of part-time jobs which served as an impetus for community growth, where many persons started small businesses, invested in agriculture, among other things. The PPP/C also reversed APNU+AFC’s more than 300 taxes and fees.

Also, since taking office in 2020, the PPP/C government has implemented a range of tax cuts and relief measures aimed at improving citizens’ lives.

These include the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on machinery and equipment, water and electricity, data services, hinterland travel, and several other essential goods and services.

Further, industries such as mining and sugar have been lifted from the backburners of development and the current government continues to focus on diversifying Guyana’s economy with even bigger plans to transform it in its new term.