See full statement from the People’s Progressive Party:
The People’s Progressive Party condemns in the strongest possible terms the obstruction of an engagement between Minister of Public Service Sonia Parag and residents of Belladrum, Region Five by APNU+AFC Member of Parliament Vinceroy Jordan.
Minister Parag’s visit to the community was as a result of a request made by residents during an earlier visit by President Dr Irfaan Ali. The residents had sought the president’s intervention to facilitate access to skills training, scholarships and other empowerment opportunities.
It is in this regard that the Minister visited the community on Tuesday November 8th, and was prevented from accessing the Community Development Council building by Jordan and a small group of APNU+AFC activists.
The PNC led APNU+AFC has demonstrated time and time again that it is incapable of offering meaningful leadership to their constituents or anyone for that matter, and is therefore in its familiar obstructionist mode with racism being its tool of choice.
While in office they took multi-million dollar scholarships for themselves and their relatives and denied ordinary Guyanese these very opportunities.
Their attempt to obstruct the PPP/C government’s housing drive at Amelia’s Ward in Linden, Region Ten and at Mocha Arcadia on the East Bank of Demerara are just a few examples of how they wanted development to bypass certain communities so that they can continue to peddle false claims of discrimination.
The blame for this worrying development should be laid squarely at the feet of PNC and Opposition Leader Mr. Aubrey Norton who has been unabatingly setting a tone of racism and aggression towards the legitimately elected government and its officials.
Norton has also started pivoting his poisonous rhetoric and confrontational tone towards members of the media as was recently witnessed during a community rally in the East Bank Demerara community of Mocha Arcadia.
The PPP unequivocally condemns MP Jordan’s cowardly behaviour and bullying tactics towards Minister Parag and urge that it be similarly denounced by Civil Society and other national stakeholders.
The party further calls on Civil Society and other national stakeholders, as well as all patriotic Guyanese at home and abroad to make their voices heard to Mr. Aubrey Norton and members of his cabal, on this most vexing and worrying matter of his racist and aggressive posture, and the subtle as well as overt messages he continues to send to his cabal and supporters against the duly elected Government and its functionaries, and against the national interest of the state.
