Alliance For Change (AFC) executive member Cathy Hughes said on Saturday evening that Guyana would have been more developed had there not been the level of corruption there is and promised that under an AFC-led government jobs will be created and VAT would be reduced.
Addressing a small gathering at Duncan and Republic streets, Bel Air, one of the party’s public meeting venues, Hughes said, “I am saying to Guyanese that you really have the power to get into that box and simply put your X in the right place and I hope to convince you tonight that the only good place to put that X is next to the key and next to the Alliance For Change”.
She explained that governments must be judged on what they have delivered. “I am not saying that we have not had governments that have not done good. We have had quite a few good things but what I want you to consider is how further along the line we could have been if there was less corruption, less stealing of our natural resources…”
Dressed in a bright yellow t-shirt (the party colour), she appealed to those listening to take into account issues that should have been dealt with including attracting investors so that the economy and people could benefit.
She said to achieve a stronger economy, an AFC-led government will reduce VAT to 12% since this issue is weighing down the backs of Guyanese. Teachers, security services, nurses are among the most valuable people in society and as such her party feels that “we need to ensure that they are all able to have a decent life and to cover their basic cost”. She said that the party is confident that it will be able to give all public servants a 20% increase. She noted that if government really cared about the welfare of public servants, the 8% increase would have been given long ago and not just before the general elections.
Hughes later questioned whether Guyana can compete with businesses in Trinidad and other countries in the Caribbean at the rate the country is going. “We are using this as one example of the things that we can do and we feel strongly about the ideas we have and the research we have done. We have a very comprehensive action plan and we have a programme to ensure that we will be able to push our industry forward,” she stressed.
Hughes used the opportunity to criticize the government’s One Laptop Per Family Project. She said that parts for laptops are available online. They are all made by not more than five countries throughout the world she said, pointing out that even Dell, the most popular computer brand, buys these parts and assembles computers. “What we are saying is that instead of buying those laptops out of China we could have trained a series of young people to assemble computers right here,” she said, noting that such an initiative would have created employment for many.
Hughes told the gathering that creating jobs especially for young people is very important to her party. She pointed out that last year’s valedictorian of the University of Guyana is still without a job as well as two AFC volunteers who graduated from school last year with 11 CSEC subjects.
“That is the greatest disservice that we can do to our young people,” she said explaining that the AFC had a comprehensive plan which includes training and scholarships.
Hughes called on all to put race issues aside and focus on building an economy that would benefit us all.
