–President Ali, Dr Singh highlight significant differences between PPP/C’s and APNU+AFC’s management of key productive sectors
–gov’t ‘stepping harder on accelerator’ to advance development across Guyana

HIGHLIGHTING that two of Guyana’s major productive industries were in total disrepair under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration from 2015-2020, President, Dr Irfaan Ali on Monday called out the coalition for now trying to use the bauxite and sugar industries as “diversionary political tools.”

The Head of State, in a live broadcast statement on his official Facebook page, said that the main goal of the opposition, APNU+AFC, is to pursue a “divisive” approach to politics.

According to statistics provided by the Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, who joined the President during the broadcast, the bauxite industry was most successful during the PPP/C’s tenures in office.

From 1979 to 1992, when the then People’s National Congress (PNC) held the governing office, the industry’s production levels were significantly low when compared to the PPP/C during 1993-2014.

Thereafter, a decline was recorded when the A Partnership for National Unity assumed office during the years 2015 to 2020.

President Ali and Dr Singh presented a graph which showed that there was a higher average of production under successive PPP/C governments compared to the PNC/APNU+AFC.

According to the Finance Minister, during 2015-2020, several operators had suspended operations which saw hundreds of workers being laid off.

He said that the economic life of communities at Kwakwani, Ituni, Linden and New Amsterdam had collapsed under the coalition, as these were the communities that were hubs for bauxite production.

Now, the government is making significant investments to increase production and support the modernisation of the industry, and this has led to the projection of a massive production increase.

“We tried to first of all resuscitate the industry from circumstances in which we found it, creating an investor-friendly environment once again, generating optimism and a positive output for the sector,” Dr Singh said
This led to a massive investment made by a private operator in Linden, Region 10–Bosai Minerals Group–in which a US$120 million Kiln was purchased to boost production output by one million tonnes this year. Over the next two years, this investment has been estimated to create 1,000 new jobs.

“The investment that we are making in things like gas, energy and bringing down the cost of electricity will once again make it viable for Guyana to get back in aluminum production,” Dr Singh added.

Talks have already commenced in getting more investors involved in the industry and potentially creating a hub for aluminum production.

“Our policies are guided by what is best for the country, what is best for the people for the country,” President Ali said.

SUGAR

Shifting attention to the sugar industry, President Ali reminded that it was the previous government which had a misguided philosophy that led to the decline of the industry.

In 2017, the then APNU-led government had closed several major sugar estates across the country, leaving thousands of persons without jobs.

A former Vice-President of the APNU+AFC government, Khemraj Ramjattan, had maintained that the coalition’s move was transformational, as it is not wise to spend “good money behind bad sectors.”

Over 40,000 persons had either directly or indirectly lost sources of income when the estates were closed and investments were stymied.

At the last general elections, the PPP/C government vowed to reopen these estates and upon assuming office major investments were made to fulfil the manifesto pledge of rehiring and increasing sugar production.

Thousands of persons have since been rehired and, to date, according to recent statistics provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, over 8,000 persons are employed across the sugar belt.

The APNU+AFC, however, “don’t understand the intricate nature of the economy,” President Ali said.

And despite the narrative being touted by the opposition, the government is working on a system with the relevant workers’ unions to improve wages.

A plan is also being established to advance the skill levels of workers to further support the optimising and mechanisation of the sugar industry.

“I want us to look at the facts, results and reality …this is a time for hard work, this is the time for debates and ideas, critical analysis …we have a lot of work ahead of us, we are not slowing down. This year we are going to step harder on the accelerator to bring prosperity to every home in our country,” President Ali said.