The year 2019 is over and in summing up how Guyana’s economy fared over the past year, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Presidential Candidate Dr Irfaan Ali believes that from an economic perspective, it was a year that left thousands in financial hardship.
He made this pronouncement on Monday, during a joint press conference with the party’s General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, at the office of the Leader of the Opposition on Church Street, Georgetown.
Dr Ali pointed out that all the major pillars of the productive sectors showed a decline, including sugar, rice and gold mining. According to him, the root of the problem can be traced directly to the policies of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC).
“This year has been a disastrous year for us, from a purely economic perspective. And if you are to add what happened over the last four years, the existing situation must be addressed,” Ali told the media.
According to Ali, Guyana has lost 30,000 jobs in the productive sector under the coalition Government. He cited figures to show that over the last four and a half years, earnings have declined by almost US$548 million from the key sectors like mining and agriculture. He blamed taxes, bad policies and neglect from the Government. One sector he delved into was rice.
“I have made it very clear and our manifesto outlines strategies that will bring back life to these sectors and create an investment climate that will bring confidence to the Private Sector in these sectors. In terms of rice, you would recall the Government has made it very clear they don’t see themselves as having a role. They see this as private business.”
“For us in the PPP, we believe rice forms an integral part of our economic life. It affects thousands of families and lives all across our country. For this reason, we will be pursuing measures and policies that give incentives and help rice farmers retool, reorganise and remove the Value Added Tax (VAT) on machinery and equipment.”
According to Ali, this will remove various obstacles rice farmers are faced with in earning a living and expanding. In addition, he said that a PPP Government will pursue better-paying markets.
He also spoke about sugar and the ways in which they can return the sector to profitability. According to Ali, the closure of the estates also impacted the provision of drainage and irrigation services to farmers.
