Dear Editor,
This year’s budgetary debates were quite an entertainment, especially from the Opposition side of the house. I sat there listening attentively to the parliamentarians on the Opposition side, and wondered to myself if this was the best we could muster as members of the Opposition. If that is their attempt to dissect the budget presented by the Hon. Minister Ashni Singh, then, my friends, we are in deep trouble.
This brings me to the Hon. Viceroy Jordon’s presentation, this “engineering technician”, who worked at GWI, speaking about agriculture and the developmental plan the Agriculture Ministry has for the future and the country, is the joke of the century.
Jordan is telling the house that what is needed is a “comprehensive agriculture plan and program” that would take into consideration every region in Guyana, but these people selectively choose not to remember when they were in office and what happened to agriculture then. Did they have a “comprehensive agriculture plan”? Did they cater or provide relief for small- and large-scale farmers?
Did they check to see the “harsh reality on the ground” when they closed the sugar estates and sent thousands of sugar workers out of employment? Jordan wants to talk about the “harsh reality on the ground”, as if Noel Holder, the former Agriculture Minister, served any purpose during his tenure. In fact, agriculture was dead, and there were no plans to catapult agriculture to what it is today.
He touched on food security, and mentioned the hydroponics and shade house projects that benefit hundreds of youths. I would like for Mister Jordon to highlight what they did for youths, particularly in the area of agriculture. He speaks of his party’s plan to extend agriculture to every region, but agriculture is already flourishing in every region. I am convinced that these people do not have anything to criticise.
The APNU/AFC Government had five years to show what could be done for agriculture. It was an opportunity for them to develop the sector, but what did they do with it? Waste it! Standing in Parliament to criticize a budget that caters for every sector and sub-sector while making empty promises of what they would do if allowed to govern again will not suffice. The people won’t be fooled twice.
Yours sincerely
Fawaz A Harry
