PPP/C hammers gov’t over ending of laptop programme

The PPP today condemned the government over the ending of the One Laptop Per Family programme.
A press release from the PPP follows:
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) denounces the decision by the David Granger Administration to bring an abrupt end to the revolutionary One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) Project, initiated by the PPP/C while in office.
The Party also takes note of recent pronouncements by the Granger Administration that the OLPF “was a waste of taxpayers money and badly conceived”.
The PPP/C wishes to remind that the One Laptop Per Family project was initiated to support and foster Guyana’s community and economic development within the revolutionary internationally-recognized Low Carbon Development Strategy.
This programme was conceptualized and implemented with the visionary aim of the PPP/C to bridge the Information and Telecommunication gap, not only between those on the coast land and the interior of Guyana, but also between Guyana and the rest of the rapidly advancing technological world.
With a computer in the home, an enabling environment is created for parents and family members to become more involved in their children’s school work. It will enhance research and learning approaches in academia and general social studies, and it is expected that the achievement gaps between children of poor or working class parents and those of parentage from high-income brackets will be narrowed.
This project was a critical component of the new frontier development path that will drive a new and more prosperous Guyana.
Ninety thousand families, including the most vulnerable across the length and breath of Guyana were targeted to benefit from this programme.
Thus far, over fifty-five thousand laptops have been distributed to eligible families.
Another 10,000 laptops, valued at US$8M were ordered by the PPP/C government just before leaving office.
A Transparent process was used to determine each beneficiary to whom priority was given.
Despite these hard facts, the Granger Administration is still fighting tooth and nail to paint a picture of this people-centered initiative as being a “pappy show”.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon had stated that the initiative was a “massive fraud”.
Yet this initiative was not highlighted for a forensic audit.
Further, Harmon walked into a storeroom full of laptops suddenly and determined that 10,000 were no good. Harmon is probably the best stand up auditor to determine which laptops were good and which were bad.
These unsubstantiated declarations and unilateral moves by the Granger Administration are deeply suspicious and conveys the impression that excuses are being made to secretly hand over laptops to friends and cronies of the APNU/AFC Coalition.
The government must explain the methodology it intends to use for distribution of the laptops to teachers, schools and communities.
Further, the government must reveal its “well Thought-out arrangement” for the 10,000 laptops soon to arrive. It must also explain the nature of its “community-based” theme and the socio-economic criteria to be used for choosing communities.