Members of the incumbent People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) on Wednesday defended the party’s manifesto, stating that the promises made within were tangible.
“We are very careful because we intend to honour the promises that we have made. We say that we’ll appoint the Public Procurement Commission [PPC] with the requisite parliamentary support because we are not in the game of deceiving the people of Guyana,” Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh said.
He charged that it is irresponsible for any other party to promise that the PPC could be comprised without the needed two-thirds parliamentary support.
“Everything we say we can do in this manifesto, we can do and we will do,” Singh stated.
He further noted that a “party’s behaviour can be measured and assessed against the contract, the undertaking of the party in its manifesto.”
The PPP/C’s manifesto, launched a week ago at the Marriott Hotel, features several promises made by successive PPP/C administrations in at least two previous manifestos.
Meanwhile, new PPP/C candidate Vanessa Benn spoke about the strides made under the PPP/C’s leadership. She held up a map of Guyana and noted that Georgetown was a very small portion of the country and that the party was looking beyond the capital to improve infrastructure, build schools and hospitals to service all Guyanese.
Benn, who has a background in environmental science, said while there was much more to be done, the PPP has a concise manifesto which outlines how the natural resources sector is to be developed. She said the manifesto promised cohesion among government agencies to enable a collective effort approach to conservation within the natural resources sector.
Further, in the areas of forestry and logging, she noted, there are measures to retool and improve methods of production, with a focus on conservation.
Benn also said the party would emphasise conservation and would channel funds received from various agreements, including government’s agreement with the Kingdom of Norway, into the enhancement of the protected areas.
Also in attendance at the briefing was Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony, who declared that the manifesto includes strong plans for improvement of the areas for which he has had responsibility. “It is easy for someone to run out there, flag a problem and say this is the issue; it is much more complex and difficult to sit down and plan a programme of how you’re going to address the issue and then put a budget to it,” he added.
