President seals support pact in Region Three for return to Government - thousands of jobs, houselots on the cards

Written by Gina Webmasters, Published in News, Georgetown, GINA, May 6, 2015, Source

He noted that the People’s Progressive Party /Civic (PPP/C) has an outstanding record, so worthy of emulation that the opposition is copying some of the ideas in their electioneering gimmick, while the PNC’s record in Government is so poor that it not only left Guyana bankrupt, but left it with a debt repayment of 153 percent of its revenue. “We were digging a hole to fill a hole. The PPP/C government has reduced that debt from 925 percent of the economy to 60 percent of our economy right now. We repaid more than a billion US (dollars) in debt that the PNC left for this country… we have brought the repayment down to four percent of our revenue. This is what the management of the PPP/C government has done, and we have invested in the people of our country.”

He traced the government’s huge investment in the social sector, noting that funding was boosted in the areas of health, education, housing, and old age pension, “and we are beginning to see the returns of that coming to our country now.”

President Donald Ramotar addressing a large gathering of residents at Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara

The President said another term in office will give the PPP/C the opportunity to further develop the country’s landscape and infrastructure for a modern country that provides a higher standard of living. He reiterated that government has started much of the work, including securing a hydro power project for cheaper energy, but this was cut by the Opposition. Once re-elected, the PPPC Government intends to push  the project with construction beginning by year – end.

He noted that government has started a project for a new highway in West Demerara, and is planning to build a new bridge across the Demerara River linking Regions Three and Four, a new highway on the West Bank and new roads in the Canal Polders – One and Two.

He also spoke of government’s many plans for the rice and sugar industries, and the expansion of the economic base of the country through cultivation of new products, and value added for existing products, such as ethanol from sugar.

“All these are possibilities that we have, like liquid sugar to develop the industry.” He added that plans are in the pipeline for Guyana to not only produce raw sugar, but refined sugar as well. He reiterated his commitment to ensure that at least $20 billion is spent on sugar’s sustainability and development over the next five years.

The President noted that with the completion of projects like the modern airport, which will reduce freight charges, local farmers will be able to penetrate foreign markets and increase their revenues.

He told them of the immense potential for Guyanese in the Information Communication Technology sector, noting that Guyana is moving to online university programmes and resources for children in school.

The large gathering at Meten-meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara

“This is how we are building our country, block by block,” he said, and added that projects like the One Laptop Per Family are aimed at ensuring access to technology for all.

The residents were also told of the many achievements in the social sector in Region Three, including 46 new nursery schools, 60 primary schools and numerous secondary schools. Housing has also been transformed with numerous housing schemes and thousands of houselots distributed to Guyanese in the Region.

 In the health sector, the four main facilities at Leguan, Wakenaam, Leonora and the West Demerara have been significantly upgraded and several other facilities added to the system. These are now manned by 43 doctors and support staff. This emphasis on the delivery of quality health service has resulted in people’s life expectancy increasing.

The President noted that the “biggest danger to all this is Granger… We have to be careful of them (PNC) coming back into government because elections is about record and character and the PNC and the Alliance For Change over the last three years did everything to damage our country.”

Acknowledging that there is some level of corruption in the system, he said that the current administration has put many systems in place to address this.

“The Vanderbilt University in the US does a study every five years on all aspects of life in Latin America and the Caribbean…and this year they looked at corruption,” he said. With regards to the perception that Guyana was ranked high in corruption, he said that when the University went to real corruption “Guyana was the second lowest on the whole South America and the Caribbean”.

The President also noted that some sections of the local media fuelled this perception and falsely so. He also noted that the opposition has been campaigning on race, and still the said media entities have run the advertisements without objection.

But in spite of all the challenges, “our country has a fantastic future and we must secure that future…“we are beginning to see the tide changing.” The Head of State  added that even though the United States Embassy issued 51,000 visas, 48,000 people came back, attesting to people choosing to live in Guyana because of the country’s progress.

Meanwhile, Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali told the residents of the unreliable characters in the APNU+AFC coalition that once vowed they would not unite, but are now singing another tune in the quest for political power.

“May 11 is about protecting Guyana, it’s about voting against a militarised regime, it’s about protecting the gains under the PPP/C regime... it’s about ensuring that Guyana never return under the dark miserable days under the PNC.”

Referring to the APNU+AFC rhetoric that the PPP/C is stuck in the past, Ali said that Carl Greenidge is not the past, but the present since he’s campaigning on the current list of candidates for APNU + AFC. Under Greenidge’s stewardship as Minister of Finance in the then PNC administration, he noted that housing loan escalated to 40 percent and commercial loans to 41 percent, rice production was so dismal that local consumption needs could not be met, inflation was triple digits, there were no audited reports, the inflation rate was the highest ever in Guyana and so was the rate of migration.

He said that it “was the darkest period in the economic history of our country…many World Bank papers said our people were living in abject poverty. This was his record. He’s not part of the past; he’s very much part of the present.”

In contrast, under the current Minister of Finance, Guyana has recorded nine consecutive years of growth. This country was the only one in the western hemisphere that was not affected by the international financial crises.

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is of the view that Guyana has done more things right and the World Bank said Guyana is among few countries that will see positive economic growth in the next few years.

“Comrades the choice is clear... The international community has recognised that Guyana has come a far way,” he said.

Ali noted that under the PNC life expectancy was 57 and the average age at which you owned a home was 58 years, “so you were expected to die one year after you owned your own home.” Now the average age for owning a home is about 24 years, while life expectancy is in the 70s.”

He promised that in the next term, the Government will distribute 30,000 houselots, 5000 of which will be distributed in Region Three.

He told residents of plans for economic expansion, infrastructure, and the creation of 46,000 jobs. This infrastructure development will include call centres at Tuschen and Parfait Harmonie that will create 1000 jobs each.

The Minister also told the residents of the largely-agricultural region that the PPP/C Manifesto contains eight strategies to address challenges in the sector, including improving farm to market roads, implementing a floating taxation system on fertilisers, and a rice stabilisation fund, and working with commercial banks on cheaper financing for rice farmers. “These are the initiatives that will safeguard the industry not the rhetoric, not the lies, not the hypocrisy.”