Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has stated that the APNU/AFC coalition over the past five years has implemented policies that do not support the creation of wealth or support the industries to generate jobs.
Jagdeo, who was at the time addressing party supporters during a public meeting at Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara on Saturday, noted that with disastrous policies and increased taxation, the incumbent Administration is placing Guyana to return to a state of economic turmoil and suffering.
He pointed out that the David Granger-led Administration has spent $1.1 trillion, burdened Guyanese with taxes, borrowed US$900 million and run down the reverses. Jagdeo added that if this is their approach to spending taxpayers’ money, then this country will never make progress under the coalition, even if they are given all the money in the world or the revenues from the oil and gas sector.
On this note, the Opposition Leader told supporters that it is crucial now more than ever that they ensure that the PPP/C secures victory at the upcoming polls and not allow the coalition to remain in office.
“So we have a critical task if we want this country to do well. If we want the tax money to be used in the favour of our people, if we want more jobs for our young people and we want cost of living reduced and we want better education and healthcare, then we have to vote for the party that has a proven track record of doing so and that’s the People’s Progressive Party,” he stated to loud cheering from the crowd.
Jagdeo, who is also the party’s General Secretary, went on to say that he can talk about the PPP’s achievements because the Party has many but the same cannot be said for the APNU/AFC.
He noted that all the incumbent Administration does at their rallies and public meetings as well as in their ads is to “cuss out” Jagdeo and PPP/C Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali.
“Now a party, running after five years, should talk about its progress but it doesn’t have any because it broke all of its promises – every single one of them to the pensioners, taxpayers, to sugar workers, rice farmers, to miners, to UG (University of Guyana) students. It broke its promises and its only achievement and legacy is that it has become the most corrupt government in the history of Guyana,” Jagdeo asserted.
He further posited that he can also talk about the PPP/C’s vision for the future because they have outlined all their plans in a comprehensive document four months ago. Unlike this party, he noted that the APNU/AFC launched its Elections Manifesto on Friday – a mere two weeks away from the March 2 polls.
He noted that the document contained only a couple of pages and lacked a clear framework for national development. He added too that the launch was even more lacklustre and this was coming from the party members present there.
According to the Opposition Leader, Minister of State, Dawn Hastings-Williams, during the launch said she only had a glimpse of their manifesto.
“So she’s coming to sell a document of policies to us that she didn’t read,” he stressed.
Jagdeo went on to point out that, “This was a useless piece of document but even if it was valuable, who would believe anything that they say again in this country. If you believe that, you gotta be crazy cause they broke every single promise they made in the past. All the things they wrote up about in 2015…”
One of those broken promises the Opposition Leader highlighted is job creation. He noted that the coalition is now promising 20,000 jobs over the next five years, which, according to him, is inadequate. But he noted that they would not be able to even create that amount because they have no plans to do so.
“If 30,000 people already lost jobs, then how could 20,000 jobs satisfy the people over the next five years when you have at the University of Guyana alone, more than 2000 students graduating per year? This is just nonsensical things they are saying to people. They have no idea about what it takes to govern and run this country…” the Opposition Leader noted.
To this end, Jagdeo underscored the importance of the PPP/C succeeding at upcoming polls.
