The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has already addressed areas where it erred, having held office for 23 years, and moving forward there is an acceptance of this and an approach to dealing with it – together with plans for future progress and prosperity. This is according to PPP/C presidential candidate, Dr. Irfaan Ali.
In a recent interview, he said, “We have already outlined a number of reasons that caused us to lose some amount of support….first, we had issues where we ourselves had shortcomings and weaknesses. Secondly, we were in office for a long time and the message of change was sexy, but more importantly… the first thing is life is that we have to accept mistakes; we have to accept shortcomings. It is only then that you can correct it. It is only then that we can show maturity and leadership. We have already accepted that we have had weaknesses, we have had fault…we have already outlined how we are going to fix those weaknesses, how we are going to fix those shortcomings.”
The PPP/C presidential candidate, when asked, explained that it is sometimes difficult, from an individualistic point of view, to assess the successes of a government.
Further elaborating, he pointed to the example of where one person interested in meeting a government minister, who has limited time, may only have five minutes for a one-on-one engagement and may feel that this should not be the case. “That is fair because one person may not have been satisfied…but the reality of a situation may be one where you are dealing with hundreds other people… when you look at it from their perspective, it is understandable.”
That said, Ali underscored the fact that governing for all Guyanese means takings these issues into consideration. “It is leadership with a human touch,” he said. Ali also pointed to the fact that while critics say the PPP/C lost support at the 2015 General and Regional Elections, the Elections Petition that was filed seems to have been forgotten. “We still have an elections petition in the Court that has not been heard as yet, so when you use the word lost, it should be used very guardedly. I would say that in 2015, a new government took office,” he said.
CLEAR VISION
Additionally, he assured of a clear vision, bolstered by solid policies and programmes to take Guyana forward. He said, “This government came into office I would say by falsifying who they are…a manifesto is a very important document. A manifesto is like a contract is a social contract and we have a moral and ethical responsibility to ensure we implement that manifesto because we are asking people to put their trust in us based on what we promised them… when we deviate from what we promised them, we are doing it as operating in a hypocritical manner.” According to him, the Coalition’s track record when it comes to delivering on its promise is clear for all Guyanese.
“The reality of what people face today tells the story…they cannot hide from it…the reality is that they promised better, hey promise great opportunities….none of this took place.” Ali, when pressed on the question of where the support for the PPP/C will come from at the 2020 General and Regional Elections said, “People have had a chance to compare now… the votes will come from the people who feel betrayed by the APNU+AFC….this will be the largest victory ever for the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic. “People, young people, can see today…go back to all the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic manifesto as against their (APNU+AFC) manifesto and you will see who stands to their promises.
13“…we’re going to win the elections because we believe in the people; we believe in our country and we are going to put to the people of this country a strategy and a vision that includes all and speaks to the aspirations of every segment of the Guyanese population.” The PPP/C presidential candidate stressed that moving forward, vision is important and the PPP/C has a track record that can stand up to scrutiny.
