Large turnout at Herstelling meeting- President reminds residents of PPPC’s developmental track record
Written by Gina Webmasters, Published in News, Georgetown, GINA, April 23, 2015, Source
Addressing a crowd of hundreds of Herstelling residents this evening, Head of State, Donald Ramotar, described the political opposition as not only lacking developmental plans to take Guyana forward, but also being anti-developmental.
He cited the action of the opposition to cut the National Budget, over the last three years as a move to target the nation’s youths despite the harm it would have potentially caused. The move to cut loans for University of Guyana students was one such example, he said.
President Donald Ramotar interacting with residents of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara
The failure of the opposition to support the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill was another example of the opposition doing what it could to “put our nation in harm’s way”, the president said.
He noted that despite all understanding the importance of the internationally required legislation, the opposition voted against it “not once but twice” when they had the chance to pass it. This action the President said, “puts all of us at risk” of international financial sanctions.
President Donald Ramotar addressing residents of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara
The ongoing Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (COI), the president said was a clear example of where the opposition’s true interest lay. He reminded of the fact that the COI revealed that weapons were handed over to the then PNC government by the army. He described the opposition as never really supporting the police in their crime fighting efforts; instead it accused them of extra-judicial killings. It was a history that the Opposition Leader David Granger wants Guyanese to forget, the president stated, noting that, “He is the only historian that wants us to forget the past.”
Residents of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, attending a meeting hosted by President Donald Ramotar
The opposition’s intention to further damage the country, the president said, was also evident when they cut funding for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Expansion project. Government already had secured a contractor for this huge project, and failure to meet its obligations would have resulted in litigation brought against the Government which would have been forced to use taxpayers’ money to pay for litigation costs. This, he described as, “a deliberate attempt to damage our nation”.
Residents of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, welcoming President Donald Ramotar, prior to a community meeting
The Specialty Hospital, which President Ramotar described as one that would result in the latest medical treatment and services being offered to all Guyanese was also opposed by the opposition. “Are these people interested in development? No, they just want power for power’s sake!”
The question of where all the good things they (opposition) promised would come from was put to the residents, by the president. He noted that one has to wonder from where the money to pay for all of these things would come.
The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic Government, the president said, has always and will always operate in the interest of the people. He described citizens as the most important factor for the nation’s development, hence the spending on programmes that benefitted all. These, he said include a successful housing programme which resulted in over 100,000 houselots being distributed, across Guyana, and the creation of numerous housing schemes. He spoke of the challenges facing the sugar industry and the flip-flopping of the political opposition, amidst calls for the industry to be closed or diversified away from sugar production. Government will ensure the industry, which he described as the “grandfather of all the industries”, survive through value added products such as ethanol production and more.
Residents of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, attending a meeting hosted by President Donald Ramotar
Future developments such as the Linden to Lethem Road, Deep Water harbour, Information Communications Technology, and an economy that is expanding so rapidly that more banks will be permitted to operate, lowering interest rates, and opening more avenues for persons to start their own businesses, were listed by the president.
“Our history is one of progress”, the president emphasised, unlike the PNC which destroyed the economy when they came to power. He asked the residents, “Can you trust them comrades? The path is clear, the decision is clear.” He said that all must consider how far as a nation, “we have gone and what plans we have to take us even further. I ask you to remember that the PPP has always stood by you in thick and thin.” It was the PPP which fought for universal adult suffrage, he reminded, those gathered, a right, he added that was taken away from Guyanese by the PNC via a “proxy government”, not by law but by the practice of rigging elections, a right which was restored by the PPP in 1992.
Residents were urged to ‘stand by us, stand by the PPP/Civic... together we can build our country into the better place that it deserves to be!”
