Jan 25,2018.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.
President David Granger along with several members of his Cabinet.
… says coalition Government’s legacy “shameful”
By Michael Younge
Guyanese will have to prepare to face the hardships that lie ahead as the Government continues to make blunder after blunder as it seeks to implement a host of projects which may not have any immediate positive impact or the ability to remove the daunting socioeconomic challenges facing the ordinary man.
In fact, they should be worried about the quality of life they are likely to have under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change coalition Government which is squandering State resources and grinding Guyana’s once buoyant and promising economy into the ground.
These were the sentiments expressed by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo as he gave his outlook on the country’s economy and the performance of the incumbent coalition Government which has wielded Executive power since May 2015 after winning the General and Regional Elections.
Jagdeo said the coalition has not lived up to many of the important promises it made on the campaign trail and is still unable to familiarise its Cabinet Ministers with the concepts of good governance, accountability and transparency.
He argued that when one looks at the rhetoric and statements attributed to several high-ranking figures in the David Granger Administration, one can easily understand the limitations of the Government, its inability to properly decode and read the mood of its citizenry, and the fact that no clear leadership is being provided with respect to how to achieve the targets set out in its manifesto in order for citizens to enjoy the “good life” in the shortest possible period.
The Opposition Leader said he was happy that the Guyanese are themselves seeing with their own eyes, the chaos that is taking place in every sector of the country. He said the David Granger Administration was incompetent, corrupt and arrogant as he lambasted it for failing to attract and secure any meaningful foreign direct investment to the country’s ailing economy.
Policy confusion
Jagdeo said the policy confusion and poor policy implementation and evaluation were also responsible for the Government’s overall poor performance and the magnitude of problems that are facing the population which is now struggling to cope in the turbulent conditions brought on by a disillusioned Government.
Jagdeo, who is also the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) said the PPP still believes good governance is premised on Government’s ability to adopt a holistic and multiethnic approach whenever it is rolling out policies and making decisions that can prove racially, socially or politically sensitive, given Guyana’s unique dynamics.
“They know we have the support to win the next elections… Our time is coming and we will work to ensure that we win handsomely because…We are a party for all of Guyana and not a single race… We still believe strongly that a country can only develop if all of its people move forward together,” the Opposition Leader said as he slammed the coalition’s piecemeal, divisive and irrational approach to handling the affairs of the country.
He said that it was regrettable that close to 25,000 Guyanese have lost their jobs since the coalition came to power with more and more workers being placed on the breadline because of the inconsiderate and irrational policies of the Government which puts profits above the wellbeing of people.
Corruption and incompetence
“Every week is a new corruption scandal”, Jagdeo opined as he said the coalition can never lecture anybody in this country again on issues related to transparency and openness. He noted that despite claiming that there was massive corruption under the PPP, the Government has not charged high ranking officials which libelled and accused in spite of the multimillion-dollar Commission of Inquires established.
“Why is the Integrity Commission being disbanded… Why you don’t want to trace people’s assets abroad….Government Ministers are collecting bribes… It’s almost impossible to win anything with public tendering now…”, he remarked as he gave examples of what obtains under the coalition’s stewardship of the economy.
He insisted the current Government would be going to the next elections with a “ton of baggage” under its belt as the cracks are being exposed on the coalition’s repainted walls.
Jagdeo heavily criticisd the Government’s disregard for the Constitution and Guyana’s financial laws as he equally expressed concern over the billions of dollars being wiped out from the public and paid as “settlement” in a number of judicial matters because of the incompetence of the Government’s Chief Legal Advisors.
“They are squandering more…they are borrowing more…consuming more…and squandering our future…They believe they know everything”, he said.
The Opposition insisted that the PPP will not drop its guard and remains dedicated towards fighting for workers’ rights and the rights of all law abiding citizens. He said too the party was more determined now than ever before to defend the gains made by Guyana and the right of its people to hold the Government accountable.