– Dr. Singh reminds Corriverton residents, rallies thousands at PPP/C’s grand public meeting in Upper Corentyne

SENIOR Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Ashni Singh, has reaffirmed that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C) track record and performance remain unmatched by any other political party in Guyana’s history.

Addressing thousands of energised supporters during the PPP/C’s grand public meeting in Corriverton, Region Six, last Friday night, Dr. Singh said the diversity of the gathering and the mix of political newcomers and seasoned leaders on stage symbolised the party’s enduring strength and future.
“When you see so many young persons on their own political journey with the PPP/C and at the same time on the same stage with a political titan and giant like Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, you see the obvious reason why we should be voting for the People’s Progressive Party on September 1.

“The future of our party is alive and well, and when I look on this stage and into the audience at the beautiful faces of diverse Guyana, I see yet another reason why we will be voting for the PPP/C,” Dr. Singh declared to loud applause.

He stressed that the PPP/C remains the only truly national party, representing “every single demographic group—young and not so young, and persons of every ethnicity and religion—legitimately claiming this distinction.”

TRACK RECORD ABOVE ALL
While noting that there are “literally thousands of reasons” to vote PPP/C on September 1, Dr. Singh zeroed in on the most important: the party’s track record.

He recalled that in 2020, after fighting the “brutal dictatorship” of APNU+AFC—likening them to the pre-1992 PNC dictatorship—the PPP/C presented a manifesto that outlined clear commitments.
The Guyanese people, he said, studied the PPP/C’s record both in government and opposition, compared it to the “dismal, pathetic and dreadful” APNU+AFC performance from 2015 to 2020, and decisively chose the PPP/C.
“They studied our track record as a government previously, they studied our track record as an Opposition from 2015-2020, they studied the dismal, pathetic and dreadful performance of APNU+AFC from 2015-2020 and they decided in 2020 that the PPP/C was their choice,” he recalled.

DELIVERING ON COMMITMENTS
Upon returning to office, the PPP/C immediately implemented an emergency budget, reversing over 200 hardship taxes imposed by APNU+AFC, including VAT on electricity, water, medicines, school supplies, building materials, and agricultural and mining equipment. Increases in land rent and drainage and irrigation charges were also rolled back.
Dr. Singh reminded residents that long before oil revenues, the PPP/C had introduced a school cash grant for every child. APNU+AFC, he said, “went into the pockets of every single parent” and took it away.

The PPP/C not only restored the grant but increased it to $55,000 per child, injecting more than $11 billion annually into households, with the money circulating and benefitting the wider economy.

He noted that APNU+AFC also destroyed jobs, closing sugar estates, including in Upper Corentyne, putting more than 7,000 sugar workers out of work.
“They took away jobs even with all the taxes they imposed. The entire economy was in collapse-they closed down the sugar industry, abandoned the rice industry, well you know they had promised to keep sugar open, they came into government and right away started to close down sugar estates putting more than 7,000 people who were directly employed out of work and the people of Upper Corentyne, you know how that felt!”

“We said we would reopen the sugar estates, create jobs, and invest in drainage and irrigation so farmers could return to the land—and we have delivered on all of that,” he said.
Since 2020, the government has created over 60,000 jobs, doubled old age pensions, more than doubled public assistance, lowered income tax rates, and doubled the income tax threshold. Over 82,000 people have been trained under various programmes, and more than 39,000 scholarships have been awarded, nearly double the 20,000 promised.

Major developments include the construction of new hospitals nationwide, one of which will open before month-end at Number 75 Village, establishment of the Guyana Technical Training College at Port Mourant, and a new Tourism and Hospitality Training Institute. In Region Six alone, more than 300 residents were recently trained as heavy-duty equipment operators.
Other improvements in the Region, he added, under the PPP/C include new roads, the new Hope Canal and development in every single sector including in agriculture.

Dr. Singh highlighted the construction of three new Hope-like canals to reduce flooding risks and improve farm irrigation, alongside ongoing road works and the new Hope Canal itself. He underscored the government’s swift response to farmers’ needs, providing planting materials, fertilisers, breeding stock, and on-the-ground engagement.
“That is the nature of the PPP/C—every single week we are on the ground, listening and delivering,” Dr. Singh said, as the red crowd erupted in cheers and applause.