PPP presidential candidate Irfaan Ali on Saturday told Berbice supporters that under a PPP government, the two sugar estates in Region Six shuttered just over a year ago, will be reopened, while retrenched sugar workers will receive some sort of compensation.
Speaking at Port Mourant, Corentyne, during a meeting introducing him to the ancient county as the PPP’s presidential candidate, Ali’s statement was met with cheers and applause by the over 2,000 persons gathered, most of whom were former sugar workers and their families.
Ali said that the PPP is in the process of developing their manifesto, which, according to him, will include the reopening of the sugar estates which were closed by the APNU+AFC government. Further, he said, if his party is given a chance to govern again, they will find resources to compensate the laid off sugar workers, “to help some of those families that were destroyed, some of those family that felt the brunt of the closure of the estate.”
The sugar workers received severance after being laid off.
According to Ali, this can be achieved by cutting out the “waste in the present budget.” He said that they had told the government that they should not make a decision on the sugar industry without a social and economic study because sugar is linked to every aspect of citizens’ lives in certain regions. He also highlighted that the estates carried out drainage and irrigation functions but the government failed to factor this into their decision to close the estates. Because of this, farmers in those areas are severely affected due to the lack of proper drainage and irrigation which were formerly overseen by the estates, he said.
“The industry supported a system that brought economic benefit to all of Region Six so the story of sugar in this region is the story of the people in this region. That is why sugar is so important in this region and that is why we are committing to you today that we are going to reopen the estates,” he stressed.
Ali also said that several agricultural issues in Berbice need to be addressed. “We have to invest in farm to market access roads, we have to invest in ensuring we break down the bureaucracy so people can get easier access to title and ownership of lands, we have to ensure that we remove that 1,200 per cent increase in land rates for rent taxes, we have to look at new areas in the agriculture sector for investment, we have to look at aquaculture, we have to help the rice farmers,” he said.
According to Ali, the PPP has had time to reflect on where their gaps were. He said one of the major issues that affect residents in Region Six is that the cost of “doing business is too expensive because you depend heavily on the services that are provided in Georgetown.” He said that the PPP would work to ensure that the services of government will become more accessible and cheaper for the people in Region Six.
“Passport services, vehicular registration, business registration, renewal of leases, all these essential services, we must ensure that they are delivered here in Region Six without you having to go to Georgetown,” he said.
The APNU+AFC government, since its election in 2015, has started to decentralize the provision of these services.
The PPP presidential candidate further said that ICT is an area where thousands of jobs can be created in Region Six and a deep water harbour will be completed under a government led by him that will create thousands of jobs. In terms of security, he said that they will utilise ICT as a tool to aid in creating better policies and strategies to address security issues.
“We are looking at many strategies that will have a better police force, a more equipped police force, a police force that will have better access not only to improved conditions of work but improved salaries. We are going to address crime from a community level, we are going to build an intelligence network that will fight crime from a community level so that we can proactively go after criminals and people who are in the business of crime,” he said.
Ali, who has seen his academic credentials questioned, also spoke about creating the opportunity to have “20,000 people, young people having access to university education through the distance and online learning.”
On housing, he said that while house lots would be provided, special attention would be placed on home ownership for young people, single parents and families. Ali is facing charges over the allocation of house lots to Cabinet members and other persons in the elite Pradoville 2 Housing Scheme during his tenure as Housing Minister in the previous PPP government. According to the case submission, the lots were sold far below market value thereby defrauding the state of millions of dollars.
Ali said that the PPP has a team that is committed, strong, skilled and experienced, who are ready to rebuild, restore and advance Guyana. “We must all be proud because the PPP family includes all of us here. We are one family, united with purpose, united in aspirations for a better Guyana for all Guyanese,” he said.
Touching on his party’s General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, Ali hailed him as an “international asset”. According to him, “We have to use this asset as much as possible, as long as possible and I commit to you that I will take his counsel. I look at him for leadership, I will look at him for support, I will look at him for advice because he is capable of giving this.”
