Seven months on…Key coalition promises still to be kept

Seven months after being elected to office, the APNU+AFC government has been able to fulfil and make progress on some of its pledges but it has also courted controversy on several issues and has been accused of being slow to take action.

President David Granger
 David Granger

Elected to office on the premise that “it is time” for change for the better, the APNU+AFC coalition unseated the PPP/C government after 23 years of power by promising accountable and transparent governance and committing to tackle poverty, crime, dictatorship, disunity, cronyism and corruption, among other ills.

The coalition listed 21 actions which it pledged to fulfil in its first 100 days in government but while the majority have been realised, some are still to be achieved.

One of its major promises, the establishment of the Public Pro-curement Commission, has not yet been done while a pledge to return a television station to Lindeners has also not been accomplished. Another pledge, a Code of Conduct for parliamentarians, ministers and others holding high positions, has been circulated but there is no word as yet on whether it has been made official.

Also unfulfilled is the pledge to liberalize the telecommunications and ICT sectors and the adoption of a long-term sustainable economic development plan to realize the vast potential of this country.

The coalition government’s promise to reduce the Berbice Bridge toll was only achieved on January 1st after the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI) held out on signing an agreement with government for a